Iku vs Kuru: Why Japanese Says Ima Ikimasu When English Says I'm Coming

The rule: the speaker is the centre

Iku describes movement away from where the speaker is, and kuru describes movement towards where the speaker is. That is the whole rule. What makes it hard is that English come is more flexible: it can point at the listener (I'll come to you), at a shared destination (are you coming to the party) or at the speaker. Japanese kuru only ever points at the speaker.

So watashi wa gakkō ni ikimasu, I go to school, uses iku because school is away from where I am speaking. Tomodachi ga uchi ni kimasu, a friend is coming to my house, uses kuru because the friend moves towards me. If I am already at school and describe a friend arriving there, it is kimasu, because the friend is moving towards where I am now.

Ima ikimasu: answering a call from another room

The sentence that surprises every learner is the answer to being called. Your host calls gohan desu yo from the kitchen, and you reply ima ikimasu. In English you would say coming, but you are the one who will move away from your current spot towards the caller, so from your own position it is going. Ima kimasu would mean someone is about to arrive where you are.

The same logic covers a doorbell, a colleague waving you over, and a shop assistant calling your number. Sugu ikimasu, I will be right there; ima mukaimasu, I am heading over now. Notice that Japanese does not switch to the listener's viewpoint even out of politeness; the direction stays with the speaker.

There is one polite exception you will hear from staff: mairimasu, the humble form of both iku and kuru. Tadaima mairimasu, I will be with you right away, avoids the choice altogether, which is one reason it is so common in shops and hotels.

Phone calls and text messages

On the phone, the two speakers are in different places, and each keeps their own viewpoint. If your friend is at the café and you are at home, you say ima kara ikimasu, and your friend says matte iru kara, hayaku kite, wait, come quickly. Both are correct at once, because each sentence is anchored to its own speaker.

Japanese speakers do sometimes shift their viewpoint to the listener's location, especially when reassuring someone: sugu iku kara from the caller's side, but also sugu kuru? asked by the person waiting. What you should avoid is describing your own movement towards the listener with kuru, as in ima kimasu, which sounds like a translation.

In texts, the safest verbs are tsuku, to arrive, and mukau, to head towards, because neither depends on direction. Mō sugu tsuku, arriving soon; ima mukatte iru, on my way; eki ni tsuita, I am at the station. These are the messages Japanese friends actually send.

Motte iku and motte kuru: carrying things

Motsu, to hold, in its te form plus iku or kuru gives take and bring. Motte iku is taking something away from where you are: bentō o motte iku, take a packed lunch. Motte kuru is bringing something to where you are or will be: kasa o motte kite, bring an umbrella. The direction is judged from the speaker, exactly as before.

Requests are where this matters most. Motte kite kudasai asks someone to bring a thing to you. Motte itte kudasai asks someone to take a thing away from you, for example to another room or another office. If you are the one delivering, motte ikimasu; if you want someone to leave a document with you, motte kite kudasai. Confusing these two sends the object the wrong way.

Tsurete iku and tsurete kuru: bringing people

For people and animals, the verb is tsureru, to accompany, so tsurete iku is taking someone with you to another place and tsurete kuru is bringing someone to where you are. Kodomo o tsurete iku, take the children along; tomodachi o tsurete kite mo ii desu ka, may I bring a friend?

The distinction between motte and tsurete is strict: motte kuru a person sounds like carrying them under your arm. Tsurete also takes the same request forms, tsurete itte kudasai (take me with you) and tsurete kite kudasai (bring them here). Dogs, small children and friends all take tsurete; luggage and lunch take motte.

Kaeru, modoru and the return verbs

Kaeru means to return to your base: home, your home country, your own office. It is used whether you are moving away from the speaker or towards them, because the meaning is about the destination being your base. Uchi ni kaeru, go home; kuni ni kaeru, return to one's country. Modoru means to go back to a place you were at recently and does not need it to be your base: seki ni modoru, return to your seat.

To add direction, combine with iku or kuru. Kaette kuru is to come back to where the speaker is, which is how a parent talks about a child returning home. Kaette iku is to go back away from the speaker, used when a visitor leaves. Modotte kuru and modotte iku work the same way. Kaeru on its own from the person who is leaving is complete: sorosoro kaerimasu, I will be heading home soon.

Kaeru and kuru are the verbs in the two words every household uses daily: itte kimasu (I am off, and will come back) when leaving, and tadaima and okaeri when returning. Itte kimasu is literally go and come, a promise to return to the base.

Te iku and te kuru, briefly

Attached to another verb's te form, iku and kuru become auxiliaries that add direction or a sense of time. Katte kuru means go and buy something and come back, katte iku means buy something on the way, and the same pair covers changes over time: samuku natte kita, it has been getting cold up to now; fuete iku, it will keep increasing from here on.

The spatial logic is the same as for the main verbs: kuru arrives at the speaker's here and now, iku moves away from it. A separate guide on this blog covers the te iku and te kuru auxiliaries in detail, including the tricky cases of change and continuation, so here it is enough to remember that itte kimasu and katte kimasu both promise a return to where you are.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

The classic mistake is ima kimasu when called, or kimasu for visiting someone. Both come from translating English come. Fix them by asking where you are standing when you speak: moving away is iku. The second mistake is the reverse, using iku for someone arriving at your location: tomodachi ga uchi ni ikimasu is wrong; the friend comes towards you, so kimasu.

Learners also mix motte and tsurete, and put objects on the wrong side of a request. If you want the thing to end up where you are, kuru; if you want it to leave, iku. With kaeru, the error is adding a destination that is not a base: seki ni kaeru is odd; seki ni modoru is right. Finally, on the phone, do not adopt the listener's viewpoint for your own movement: say ima kara ikimasu, not ima kara kimasu, even though the friend will hear it as coming.

• Called from another room: ima ikimasu, not ima kimasu
• Visiting someone: tomodachi no ie ni iku, not kuru
• Someone arriving where you are: kimasu, not ikimasu
• Bring to me: motte kite kudasai; take away: motte itte kudasai
• People and pets: tsurete, never motte
• Back to base: kaeru; back to a recent spot: modoru
• Unsure of direction in a text: use tsuku or mukau

Every one of these is the same rule applied once more: plant your feet where you are speaking from, and let iku lead away and kuru lead home.