学校に行きます
gakkō ni ikimasu
In Japanese, 'I am going to school' is expressed as 学校に行きます (gakkō ni ikimasu).
The phrase is used to state that someone is leaving for or traveling to their place of education.
What does it mean word for word?
学校 (gakkō) means school, に (ni) is a particle indicating the destination or direction of movement and 行きます (ikimasu) means to go or am going.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
For casual conversation, you can use the dictionary form 行く (iku) instead of the polite 行きます (ikimasu).
How does it change in a sentence?
You can replace the particle に with へ (e) to say 'to school' (as in 学校へ行きます). Doing so is grammatically correct and emphasizes the direction of travel.
How do you pronounce it?
gakkō ni ikimasu
Did you know?
- While 学校に行きます means 'I am going to school', a student leaving home would typically shout 行ってきます (ittekimasu), which literally means 'I will go and come back'.
- Japanese has a specific word, 不登校 (futōkō), to describe 'school refusal' or the act of not going to school, treating it as a distinct social phenomenon rather than just an absence.
- If you are a student, you might use the word 登校 (tōkō) instead of the full phrase to describe the specific act of arriving at school.
Examples in context
- 学校に行きます。Gakkou ni ikimasu.I am going to school.
- 毎日、学校に行きます。Mainichi, gakkou ni ikimasu.I go to school every day.
- 今から学校に行きます。Ima kara gakkou ni ikimasu.I am going to school now.
Example conversation
Two siblings are talking in the hallway before leaving the house.
- 陽葵 Himari陽太、もう学校に行きますよ。Yōta, mō gakkō ni ikimasu yo.Yōta, I'm going to school now.
- 陽太 Yota待って、僕も学校に行きます。Matte, boku mo gakkō ni ikimasu.Wait, I'm going to school too.
- 陽葵 Himari急いで準備してね。Isoide junbi shite ne.Hurry up and get ready.
- 陽太 Yotaすぐに準備します。Sugu ni junbi shimasu.I'll get ready right away.
