How to Say "Go Shopping" in Japanese

買い物に行く

kaimono ni iku

To go shopping in Japanese is 買い物に行く, pronounced kaimono ni iku.

The phrase 買い物に行く is used to describe the act of leaving one's home to buy things from a store.

Which one should you use?

While 買い物に行く emphasizes the act of leaving to go to a location, the phrase 買い物をする focuses on the act of doing the shopping itself.

The past tense of the phrase is formed by changing 'iku' to 'itta' to form 買い物に行った.

kaimono ni iku

In Japan, the experience of 買い物 often involves a 'point card' culture so intense that people may choose a store based solely on which points system they are collecting.
When people go 買い物 at a traditional market, they may engage in 値切り (negiri), or price haggling, which is strictly avoided in the modern chain stores and convenience stores common in cities.
If you are specifically going to buy food, Japanese speakers often use the word 買い出し (kaidashi) instead of 買い物 to emphasize a large-scale stock-up.

毎朝、買い物に行くよ。
Every morning, I go shopping.
This sentence shows how to use 買い物に行く to describe a daily routine.
Tatoeba #9528679 by small_snow, translation #578791 by langulo
週に何回買い物に行くの？
How many times a week do you go shopping?
This sentence uses 買い物に行く to ask about frequency.
Tatoeba #11508677 by bunbuku, translation #5285834 by CK
トムと一緒によく買い物に行く。
I often go shopping with Tom.
This sentence uses 買い物に行く to describe an activity done with another person.
Tatoeba #11132332 by yomu, translation #6348757 by CK
買い物に行きます
I'm going shopping.
一緒に買い物に行きましょう
Let's go shopping together.
ショッピングに行かない？
Would you like to go shopping?
7 more sentences on Tatoeba

Kenta and Yui are talking about their plans for the afternoon.

結衣 Yui

これから買い物に行くけど、一緒に来る？
Kore kara kaimono ni iku kedo, issho ni kuru?
I'm going shopping now, do you want to come along?
健太 Kenta

いいですね。僕も買い物に行きたいです。
Ii desu ne. Boku mo kaimono ni ikitai desu.
That sounds good. I want to go shopping too.
結衣 Yui

何を買う予定なの？
Nani o kau yotei nano?
What are you planning to buy?
健太 Kenta

新しい靴を買いに行きます。
Atarashii kutsu o kai ni ikimasu.
I'm going to buy some new shoes.

Sources

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