Saying where you’re going and coming from in Japanese

Level A1

Saying where you’re going and coming from in Japanese

By the end of this lesson, you can say where you’re going and where someone is coming from, and ask about both. The main idea is this: in a sentence about moving, the place comes before the verb with a particle right after it, に (ni) for the destination or から (kara) for the starting point, and the verb closes the sentence: 行きます (ikimasu) for going to another place, 来ます (kimasu) for coming to where you’re speaking. That gives you 駅に行きます (eki ni ikimasu), “I’m going to the station,” and 駅から来ます (eki kara kimasu), “I’m coming from the station.”

Quick warm-up: where and what time

These pieces come back in this lesson, even if this is the first time you’ve seen them. 本はどこですか (hon wa doko desu ka) asks “Where is the book?”: どこ (doko) is “where.” あそこです (asoko desu) answers “It’s over there”: ここ (koko) is “here,” そこ (soko) is “there” and あそこ (asoko) is “over there.” In 家で働きます (ie de hatarakimasu), “I work at home,” で (de) marks the place where an action happens. 何時に働きますか (nanji ni hatarakimasu ka) asks “What time do you work?”, and 九時に働きます (kuji ni hatarakimasu) answers “I work at nine,” with に (ni) after the time. In 今日は働きません (kyō wa hatarakimasen), “I don’t work today,” 今日 is “today,” は (wa) makes it the topic and ません (masen) makes the verb negative; 明日 (ashita) is “tomorrow.”

The new pieces: 行きます, 来ます, 駅, から and a new job for に

行きます (ikimasu) is “go” and 来ます (kimasu) is “come.” Their cards show 行く (iku) and 来る (kuru), the forms dictionaries use; recognizing them is enough for now. Notice that 来 sounds く (ku) in 来る and き (ki) in 来ます. 駅 (eki) is “station.” から (kara) marks where you’re coming from, and に (ni), which you’ve seen with the time, here marks where you’re going; in these two jobs, each one comes right after a place.

Two colleagues plan their day

Two colleagues are talking at work, so “here” is the workplace. One asks 今日はどこに行きますか (kyō wa doko ni ikimasu ka), “Where are you going today?” The answer, 駅に行きます, puts 駅 where どこ was and keeps に and the verb. 何時に行きますか (nanji ni ikimasu ka), “What time are you going?”, asks for the hour with the same に as 九時に. Then comes 明日はここに来ますか (ashita wa koko ni kimasu ka), “Are you coming here tomorrow?” The answer starts with はい (hai), “yes,” and adds the starting point: 駅から来ます. Nobody says “I” or “you,” because the conversation makes it clear.

Where you’re going: 駅に行きます

Swap the place; に and 行きます stay. に comes right after the destination, where English puts “to” before it: 駅に行きます is, word for word, “station に go.” With あそこ you get あそこに行きます (asoko ni ikimasu), “I’m going over there.” In this case English has no “to,” but Japanese keeps に.

To ask, add か: 駅に行きますか (eki ni ikimasu ka), “Are you going to the station?” To ask where, put どこ in the place’s slot: 今日はどこに行きますか. To say you’re not going, use 行きません (ikimasen), the same ending as 働きません (hatarakimasen): 明日は駅に行きません (ashita wa eki ni ikimasen), “I’m not going to the station tomorrow.” 行きます covers both what you usually do and what you’re going to do, so it can also mean “I go.”

One caution: “I’m going home” takes a different verb, which isn’t part of this lesson. That’s why, in this lesson’s sentences about moving, 家 (ie) appears only with から.

駅に行きます。

Where you’re coming from: 駅から来ます

Swap the place; から and 来ます stay. から comes right after the starting point, where English puts “from” before it: 家から来ます (ie kara kimasu), “I’m coming from home.” To say who is coming, start with the person and は (wa): アナさんは駅から来ます (Ana-san wa eki kara kimasu), “Ana is coming from the station.” To ask, put どこ before から: 明日はどこから来ますか (ashita wa doko kara kimasu ka), “Where are you coming from tomorrow?”

Like 行きます, 来ます talks about a habit or a plan. So 駅から来ます doesn’t describe a trip that’s already over, and it doesn’t tell people what country you’re from; those are other sentences, not part of this lesson.

Later on you’ll meet から after a whole sentence, where it gives a reason. That’s a different use. In this lesson, から comes right after a place and marks the starting point.

駅から来ます。

行きます or 来ます? Look at where you’re speaking from

In this lesson’s sentences, the choice depends on where you are as you speak. 来ます means moving to that place, “here”; 行きます means moving to another place. At work you say アナさんはここに来ます (Ana-san wa koko ni kimasu), “Ana is coming here,” and あそこに行きます, “I’m going over there.” 明日はここに来ますか works the same way: ここ is where the two colleagues are talking.

English doesn’t always draw the line there. If someone calls you from another room, you shout “I’m coming!” In Japanese you’re heading to a place other than where you are, so you say 行きます.

に, から or で: what the place is doing

The particle after a place shows its role, whichever verb of movement follows. In 駅に行きます and ここに来ます, the place is where the trip ends; in 駅から来ます, it’s where the trip starts. In 家で働きます, the home is where the action happens and there’s no trip, so it takes で (de). In 家に猫がいます (ie ni neko ga imasu), “There’s a cat at home,” に marks where something exists.

に also marks a clock time, as you’ve seen, so one sentence can hold two: 九時に駅に行きます (kuji ni eki ni ikimasu), “I’m going to the station at nine.” The word before each に shows its job: 九時 is the time and 駅 is the destination; in this lesson, the time comes first and the place follows.

Spotting へ: 駅へ行きます

You’ll also see and hear 駅へ行きます (eki e ikimasu). へ (e) points toward a place, and in this sentence it means much the same as に: “I’m going to the station.” As a particle it’s pronounced e, not he, just as the particle は is pronounced wa. You only need to recognize it for now; in this lesson, say に.

Your turn: say where

Say each sentence aloud before you look at the matching line below. First, say that tomorrow you’re going to the station. Then ask where Ana is going. Finally, say that you’re coming from there, with そこ (soko). To keep going, swap 駅 for あそこ in the first sentence, and そこ for 家 or 駅 in the last one.

In short: に for the destination, から for the starting point

The place comes before the verb, with its particle right after it. に marks the destination: 駅に行きます. から marks the starting point: 駅から来ます. To ask, put どこ in the place’s slot and end with か: 今日はどこに行きますか, 明日はどこから来ますか. 行きます goes to another place, and 来ます comes to where you’re speaking. へ, as in 駅へ行きます, is one to recognize.

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