へ行く【へいく】

The pattern へ行く (へいく) is used to express going to a place or heading toward a destination. The particle へ indicates the direction of movement, and いく行く means "to go."

Basic usage

Attach へ to a destination noun, followed by いく行く (or its conjugated forms), to say "go to (place)."

へ vs. に

In most cases, へ can be replaced with に when indicating a destination with いく行く. The difference is subtle: へ emphasizes the direction or the journey toward the destination, while に emphasizes the arrival point itself. In everyday conversation, they are largely interchangeable.

Conjugation

Since いく行く is a godan (う) verb, it conjugates normally. The particle へ stays the same regardless of the verb form.

• Polite: 行きます →
  こうえん公園へいきます行きます。

  I go to the park.
• Past: 行った →
  きのう昨日ともだち友達のいえ家へいった行った。

  I went to my friend's house yesterday.
• Negative: 行かない →
  きょう今日はどこへもいかない行かない。

  I'm not going anywhere today.
• Past polite: 行きました →
  きょねん去年ふらんすフランスへいきました行きました。

  I went to France last year.

Common patterns

へ行く is often combined with a purpose using に before the verb, creating a "go to (place) to do (something)" pattern: