How do I know if a sentence means movement or change?

Look at the verb in front. Movement verbs (歩あるく、走はしる、帰かえる、飛とぶ) give you the physical meaning. Change verbs (増ふえる、減へる、なる、慣なれる) give you the change-over-time meaning. A few verbs work either way, and then context decides: 気温きおんが下さがってきた (change) vs. 子こどもが階段かいだんを下おりてきた (movement).

Should I write these in kanji as 来る and 行く?

Generally no. When くる and いく function as auxiliary verbs attached to a て-form, standard practice is to write them in hiragana. 暖あたたかくなってきた ○ / 暖あたたかくなって来た △ Kanji is used when 来る／行く is the main verb: 学校がっこうに行いく。

Why does 行ってきます use both 行く and くる?

Because it literally means “I will go and come back.” The てくる carries the promise of returning. This round-trip meaning attaches to many verbs: 散歩さんぽしてきます (I’ll take a walk and be back), 電話でんわしてきます (I’ll go make a call and come back). Saying 行きます instead would suggest you are leaving without a return in mind, which is why 行ってきます is the natural thing to say as you leave home.

Can I use ～ていく in the past tense?

Yes, in stories or past narratives. If a change started at a specific point in the past and continued after that, you use ～ていった. Example: その日ひから、少すこしずつ寒さむくなっていった = From that day on, it gradually got colder

～てくる vs ～ていく (Te Kuru / Te Iku): Direction & Change in Japanese

Introduction

Have you ever wondered why Japanese speakers say 「歩あるいてきた」 instead of just 「歩あるいた」, or what the difference is between 「暑あつくなってきた」 and 「暑あつくなっていく」?

For example:

How do you say a stranger walked toward you, not away from you?
How do you say prices have been rising up to now?
How do you say prices will keep rising from here on?

Both ～てくる and ～ていく add a sense of direction to a verb. Once you understand that one image, both the movement use and the change use fall into place.

1. Meaning: What do ～てくる and ～ていく mean?

The core image comes from the verbs themselves: 来くる = to come (toward me), 行いく = to go (away from me).

～てくる → toward the speaker / toward the present
～ていく → away from the speaker / toward the future

This gives us two main uses, depending on what kind of verb comes before.

① Direction of movement (with movement verbs)

～てくる shows that something approaches the speaker. ～ていく shows that something moves away from the speaker.

知しらない人ひとがこっちに歩あるいてきた。
A stranger walked toward me.

風船ふうせんが飛とんでいってしまった。
The balloon flew away.

② Change over time (with change verbs)

Here the “movement” is through time, not space. ～てくる means the change has been happening up until now. ～ていく means the change will continue from now into the future.

給料きゅうりょうが上あがってきました。
My salary has been going up (until now).

これからも物価ぶっかが上あがっていくでしょう。
Prices will probably keep rising from now on.

Think of yourself standing at the present moment: past → くる → now → いく → future.

2. Formation

Verb（te-form） + くる / いく

走はしる (to run) → 走はしってくる / 走はしっていく
増ふえる (to increase) → 増ふえてくる / 増ふえていく
慣なれる (to get used to) → 慣なれてくる / 慣なれていく

Note: くる and いく here are auxiliary verbs, so they are normally written in hiragana, not 来る／行く.

Which verbs go with which use?

The verb in front decides whether you get meaning ① or meaning ②.

Movement verbs → meaning ①

帰かえる (to return)
戻もどる (to return)
走はしる (to run)
歩あるく (to walk)
飛とぶ (to fly)
出でる (to leave)
入はいる (to enter)
上のぼる (to climb)
下おりる (to go down)

Change verbs → meaning ②

変かわる (to change)
なる (to become)
慣なれる (to get used to)
増ふえる (to increase)
減へる (to decrease)
上あがる (to rise)
下さがる (to fall)
太ふとる (to gain weight)
やせる (to lose weight)

Adjectives take なる first

To express a change with an adjective, turn it into a verb with なる, then attach てくる／ていく.

暑あつい (hot) → 暑くなってきた／なっていく
便利べんり (convenient) → 便利になってきた／なっていく

Practical tip: 上あがる can belong to either group. 階段かいだんを上がってくる is physical movement; 気温きおんが上がってくる is change. Context tells you which.

Understanding grammar is one thing. Using it naturally is another.

Practice this expression with a native Japanese tutor.

Practice with a tutor →

3. Useful Examples

① Movement toward you: ～てくる

Situation: Emi is telling Ken about something that happened on her way home.

Emi

知しらない人ひとがこっちに歩あるいてきたから、びっくりした。
A stranger walked toward me, so I was startled.

Ken

夜よるは気きをつけたほうがいいよ。
You should be careful at night.

犬いぬが父ちちを見みつけて、走はしってきた。
The dog spotted my father and ran over.

息子むすこはいつも、朝あさ7時じぐらいに2階かいから下おりてきます。
My son always comes downstairs from the second floor around 7:00 a.m.

② Movement away from you: ～ていく

泥棒どろぼうは窓まどから出でていったようです。
It seems the burglar went out through the window.

ねずみを見みつけて、猫ねこが走はしっていった。
The cat spotted a mouse and ran off.

吉田よしださんは怒おこって部屋へやを出でていった。
Ms. Yoshida stormed out of the room.

③ Change up to now: ～てくる

Situation: John and Yumi are talking on a hot afternoon.

John

7月がつになって、暑あつくなってきたね。
Now that it’s July, it has been getting hot, hasn’t it?

Yumi

ええ。今年ことしは特とくに暑あつい気きがする。
Yes. It feels especially hot this year.

日本語にほんごを勉強べんきょうする人ひとが増ふえてきました。
More and more people are studying Japanese.

運動うんどうしていないので、最近さいきん太ふとってきた。
I haven’t been exercising, so I’ve been putting on weight lately.

④ Change from now on: ～ていく

Situation: Koki has just started a demanding new job and is feeling overwhelmed.

Koki

新あたらしい仕事しごと、覚おぼえることが多おおくて大変たいへんです。
There’s so much to learn in this new job. It’s tough.

Saori

今いまは大変たいへんでも、これから仕事しごとに慣なれていくと思おもいますよ。
It’s hard now, but I think you’ll gradually get used to the work.

AIの進化しんかにより、私わたしたちの仕事しごとや生活せいかつは変かわっていくだろう。
As AI continues to evolve, our work and daily lives will change.

5時じぐらいから、空そらが暗くらくなっていきます。
From around five o’clock, the sky gradually grows darker.

4. Related grammar (comparison)

～ようになる

Both describe change, but ようになる marks the moment a line is crossed—a new habit or ability now exists. ～てくる／ていく emphasize the gradual process itself.

日本語にほんごが分わかってきた。= I’ve been coming to understand Japanese. (still in progress)
日本語が分わかるようになった。= I’ve become able to understand Japanese. (a threshold reached)

～ている

～ている describes a state or an action in progress, with no sense of direction. ～てくる adds the idea that the situation has been developing toward the present.

雨あめが降ふっている。= It is raining. (a current state)
雨が降ふってきた。= It has started to rain. (the rain arrived just now)

～てくる（a round trip）

There is one more common use worth knowing: “go and do something, then come back.”

ちょっとコンビニに行いってきます。= I’m going to the convenience store (and coming right back).
牛乳ぎゅうにゅうを買かってきてください。= Please go buy some milk and bring it back.

This is why the everyday farewell is いってきます (“I’ll go and come back”), answered with いってらっしゃい.

5. Common Mistake: choosing the wrong direction

The single most common error is picking てくる when the sentence points to the future, or ていく when it points to the past. Remember this golden rule:

～てくる: arrives at now. Pairs with 最近さいきん、だんだん、今いままで.
～ていく: departs from now. Pairs with これから、今後こんご、将来しょうらい.

Example: The number of foreign tourists has been increasing (up to now).

✅ Correct: この数年すうねんで外国人観光客がいこくじんかんこうきゃくが増ふえてきた。
❌ Incorrect: この数年で外国人観光客が増えていった。

Example: The population will keep decreasing from now on.

✅ Correct: 今後こんご、人口じんこうは減へっていくと思おもいます。
❌ Incorrect: 今後、人口は減へってくると思います。

One more check for the movement use: ask where the speaker is standing. If the person or thing ends up closer to the speaker, use てくる; if farther away, use ていく.

6. Practice

Translate the following into Japanese using ～てくる or ～ていく.

Clue	Example Answer
A bird flew into the room through the window.	鳥とりが窓まどから部屋へやに入はいってきた。
The bus left without waiting for me.	バスは私わたしを待またないで出でていった。
My Japanese has gradually gotten better.	日本語にほんごが少すこしずつ上手じょうずになってきた。
The world will keep changing from now on.	これからも世界せかいは変かわっていくでしょう。

7. FAQ

Q How do I know if a sentence means movement or change?: A
Look at the verb in front.
Movement verbs (歩あるく、走はしる、帰かえる、飛とぶ) give you the physical meaning. Change verbs (増ふえる、減へる、なる、慣なれる) give you the change-over-time meaning.
A few verbs work either way, and then context decides: 気温きおんが下さがってきた (change) vs. 子こどもが階段かいだんを下おりてきた (movement).

Q Should I write these in kanji as 来る and 行く?: A
Generally no. When くる and いく function as auxiliary verbs attached to a て-form, standard practice is to write them in hiragana.
暖あたたかくなってきた ○ / 暖あたたかくなって来た △
Kanji is used when 来る／行く is the main verb: 学校がっこうに行いく。

Q Why does 行ってきます use both 行く and くる?: A
Because it literally means “I will go and come back.” The てくる carries the promise of returning.
This round-trip meaning attaches to many verbs: 散歩さんぽしてきます (I’ll take a walk and be back), 電話でんわしてきます (I’ll go make a call and come back).
Saying 行きます instead would suggest you are leaving without a return in mind, which is why 行ってきます is the natural thing to say as you leave home.

Q Can I use ～ていく in the past tense?: A
Yes, in stories or past narratives. If a change started at a specific point in the past and continued after that, you use ～ていった.
Example: その日ひから、少すこしずつ寒さむくなっていった = From that day on, it gradually got colder

Conclusion

In this article, you learned that ～てくる and ～ていく both express direction—in space with movement verbs, and in time with change verbs.

With this grammar, you can now:

show whether something approaches or leaves you,
describe changes that have reached the present or will continue into the future,
and choose the right one by asking whether the sentence points toward now or toward later.

Ready to start speaking Japanese?

Try a gokigen japanese lesson and practise with a friendly native tutor.

Book a trial lesson $5

Online 1on1 · ~50min · First lesson only $5

Author: gokigen japanese
gokigen japanese is an online Japanese tutoring service launched in 2023. Flexible, interactive, and culture-rich, gokigen japanese supports learners at all levels with bilingual Japanese tutors.
Over 1,000 students from 30+ countries have used our 300+ original materials, including grammar guides and cultural content.

gokigen japanese was founded by Hirofumi Naramura, a Kyoto University graduate and former Project Leader at the Boston Consulting Group (2010–2020). The service has received recognition such as the Chiyoda CULTURE x TECH Award 2024 and acceptance into NEXs Tokyo, a startup program by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.