Common Japanese Mistake: くる (kuru) vs いく (iku) — Perspective Matters

The Speaker’s Position Changes Everything

In English, “come” and “go” are fairly intuitive. In Japanese, the distinction between くる and いく depends entirely on whose perspective is used — which is often different from how English speakers naturally frame it. This creates predictable, consistent mistakes.

The Basic Rule

Where English and Japanese Diverge

The conflict happens when you respond to an invitation:

Someone at a party calls you: 「パーティーに来ますか？」— Will you come to the party?

• English: “Yes, I’ll come” (you adopt their perspective)
• Japanese: 「はい、いきます。」— Yes, I’ll go. (you use YOUR perspective — the party is away from you)

When くる IS Correct (for the speaker going somewhere)

Use くる when you’re mentally projecting yourself to the destination already:

• 「そっちにいきます。」— I’m going to your place. (standard)
• 「そっちにいきますね。」→ can also be 「そっちにいきますね。」or 「そっちにいきますよ。」
• On the phone: 「いまからそこにいきます。」— I’m heading there now.

But: If you’re ALREADY at the location talking about it: 「ここにきてよかった。」— I’m glad I came here. (you’re at the destination now → くる)

Te-Form Usage: いってきます vs きてください

Quick Drill

1. Friend invites you to their house — you say: 「はい、___。」
2. You want someone to bring the document to your desk: 「ここに___ください。」
3. You’re at the restaurant and realize: 「このレストランに___よかった！」

Answers: 1. いきます (going from your location) / 2. もってきて / 3. きて (you’re already there)

Yuka Loses Track of くる and いく

Mistakes feel embarrassing in the moment but they are the fastest way to learn. Watch how Yuka makes a natural error — and how Rei explains the rule clearly enough to prevent it from happening again.

Yuka

Rei, my Japanese friend texted me: のちほどそちらにいきます. Does that mean they’re coming to me or going somewhere else?

Rei

They’re coming to YOU! いく is movement away from the speaker’s current location. But your friend wrote from THEIR location — so ‘going to your place’ is いきます from their perspective. In Japanese, direction is always relative to who is speaking.

Yuka

And if I want to say ‘please come here’?

Rei

From your perspective, you say きてください — Please come (here, to where I am). The same physical movement is いく from the friend’s side and くる from your side. Always anchor the verb to the speaker’s location.

Yuka

What about on the phone? I want to say ‘I’m coming now.’

Rei

Say: いまそちらにいきます — I’m going there now (you’re moving away from where you are). Or use います if you’ve effectively ‘arrived’ in spirit: もうすぐいきます — I’ll be there soon. On the phone, both いく and きます appear — context determines perspective.

5 Correct Sentences — Read These Aloud

Each sentence demonstrates the correct usage from this article. Say them aloud to lock in the right pattern.

1. あしたそちらにいきます。
   I’ll go there tomorrow. (away from speaker)
2. うちにきてください。
   Please come to my place. (toward speaker)
3. こどもたちがこうえんにいきました。
   The children went to the park.
4. 先生がきょうしつにきました。
   The teacher came into the classroom. (toward speaker’s location)
5. のちほどそちらにうかがいます。
   I will visit you later. (humble いく)

Your Turn! Correct the Mistake in the Comments

Here is a sentence with the error from this article. Can you fix it? Write the corrected version — and your own correct sentence — in the comments below.

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