How to Say “Go,” “Come,” and “Return” in Japanese

How to Say “Go,” “Come,” and “Return” in Japanese

The pattern
[noun] は [place] に/へ ___ます。

は (wa) — marks the topic (the person doing the action)

に (ni) or へ (e) — marks the destination (“to”)

The slide notes に specifically = “to” (goal), while へ emphasizes direction

The three examples
1. 行きます（いきます / ikimasu）— “go”

[noun]は[place]に行きます。— “[Someone] goes to [place].”

2. 来ます（きます / kimasu）— “come”

[noun]は[place]に来ます。— “[Someone] comes to [place].”

3. 帰ります（かえります / kaerimasu）— “return, come back, go home”

[noun]は[place]に帰ります。— “[Someone] returns to [place].”

How to fill it in
You just plug a person into [noun] and a destination into [place]. For example:

1. 私は学校に行きます
（わたしは がっこうに いきます）
“I go to school.”

2.友達は私の家に来ます
（ともだちは わたしのいえに きます）
“My friend comes to my house.”

3. 彼は家に帰ります
（かれは いえに かえります）
“He returns home.”

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