In English we say "take" (away from here) and "bring" (toward here). Japanese does the same with 「持っていく」 and 「持ってくる」.
But ていく and てくる go far beyond "go" and "come" — they can also express trends and changes over time.
Spatial Usage: Away vs. Toward
ていく = Do Something and Move Away
After completing the action, movement goes away from the speaker.
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本を買っていった。 → Bought a book and left. (Bought it, then went away.)
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歩いていく。 → Walk there. (Walk toward a distant place.)
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弁当を持っていく。 → Take a lunch box (with you).
てくる = Do Something and Come Here
After completing the action, movement goes toward the speaker.
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本を買ってきた。 → Bought a book (and came back).
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歩いてくる。 → Walk here. (Walk from afar toward this place.)
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お土産を持ってきた。 → Brought souvenirs (here).
Spatial Usage at a Glance
| ていく (go) | てくる (come) | |
|---|---|---|
| Direction | Away from speaker | Toward speaker |
| Buy a book | 買っていった | 買ってきた |
| Walk | 歩いていく | 歩いてくる |
| Carry something | 持っていく | 持ってくる |
How to decide: Where is the speaker? Is the action moving toward them or away from them?
Temporal Usage: From Now On vs. Up Until Now
This is the more advanced use of ていく and てくる — expressing trends along a timeline.
ていく = Change Continuing into the Future
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これから暑くなっていく。 → It's going to get hotter and hotter from now on.
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人口が減っていくだろう。 → The population will probably keep decreasing.
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日本語が上手になっていく。 → Your Japanese will keep getting better.
Nuance: The change extends from now into the future.
てくる = Change That Has Led Up to Now
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去年から交通事故が増えてきた。 → Traffic accidents have been increasing since last year.
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最近、日本語が少しわかるようになってきた。 → Recently, I've gradually come to understand some Japanese.
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だんだん寒くなってきた。 → It's been gradually getting colder.
Nuance: The change has been building up from the past to now.
Temporal Usage at a Glance
| ていく (→ future) | てくる (past →) | |
|---|---|---|
| Time direction | Now → future | Past → now |
| Common pairings | これから (from now) | 最近, だんだん (gradually) |
| Temperature | 暑くなっていく | 寒くなってきた |
| Quantity | 減っていく | 増えてきた |
Memory trick: いく = moving forward (future), くる = arrived here (up to now)
Deciding Which One
When you see ていく/てくる, ask yourself two questions:
- Spatial or temporal? → Physical movement = spatial; trend or change = temporal
- Which direction? → Spatial: away or toward? Temporal: into the future or up to now?
Self-Test
Q1. What does 「傘を持っていってください」 mean?
Show answer
"Please take an umbrella with you." This is spatial usage — 持っていく = carry something and leave (away from here).
Q2. Is 「だんだん暖かくなってきた」 spatial or temporal?
Show answer
Temporal. It's gradually gotten warmer — the change has built up from the past to now. てくる indicates "change leading up to the present."
Q3. "Prices will keep rising from now on" — ていく or てくる?
Show answer
ていく. Change extending from now into the future: 「これから物価が高くなっていくだろう。」
Summary
- Spatial: ていく = away from speaker, てくる = toward speaker
- Temporal: ていく = change continuing into the future, てくる = change that has led up to now
- Two-step decision: First determine spatial vs. temporal, then determine direction
- ていく pairs with これから; てくる pairs with だんだん, 最近