What are iku(いく)and kuru(くる) in Japanese?

“Iku” is Go and “kuru” is Come in English.

in Japanese, we use little differently than how these are used in English

In Japanese, it is based on where you are.

Depending on where you are we use iku and kuru.

Example Phrases

Situation 1 : A (me) inviting B to A’s house, calling B to ask if he can come tomorrow.

A) あしたうちにくる？

ashita uchi ni kuru?

Will you come to my home tomorrow?

B) はい。明日いきます。

hai. ashita ikimasu.

Yes. I am coming (going) tomorrow.

*Look at the diagram. So for A (ME), B is coming to where A(I am) is at, so it is kuru for A.

For B, he is going to where A is at, which is not where B is at. So for B, he is going. So B uses いく.

Situation 2: A is at the meeting spot, waiting for B to come.

A) くるの？

kuruno?

Are you coming?

B) いく。

iku

I am coming (I am going).

Situation 3: A and B are going to a same meeting which starts in the afternoon.

A) 午後のミーティング いく？

gogo no meeting iku?

you going to the afternoon meeting?

B) いく。Aは？

iku. a wa?

I am going. how about Y?

A) いくよ。

ikuyo.

yeah, I am going.

*In this case, both are going to where they are not at the moment.

Hope this makes sense. Please comments below or email me if there is any question.