Practice JLPTHow to tell them apart
The core contrast is the direction of change relative to the speaker's viewpoint. ていく describes a change that starts now and continues forward into the future, while てくる describes a change that has been happening up to now and is reaching the present moment. Swapping them shifts the timeline: 寒くなっていく means it will keep getting colder from now on, whereas 寒くなってきた means it has already been getting colder up to now.
- 行く・いく Use ていく when a change or action starts now and continues into the future.
- 来る・くる Use てくる when a change has been unfolding up to the present moment.
| Grammar point | Meaning | JLPT level |
|---|---|---|
| 行く・いく ku iku | Continue to/Going forward | N3 |
| 来る・くる ru kuru | Come to/Start to | N3 |
行く・いく ku iku
Continue to/Going forward
Some action or state keeps changing from the point in time at which the speaker first describes the action.
-
これからは寒くなって行く・行きますよ。
It will get colder (and continue to be that way) from now on.
-
これからは暖かくなって行きますよ。
It will grow warmer (and continue in that way) from now on.
来る・くる ru kuru
Come to/Start to
An auxiliary verb which indicates the beginning of some process or continuation of some action up to a current point of time.
-
あの子はこの頃随分奇麗になって来たね。
That girl has become very pretty lately, hasn't she?
-
テニスをしていたら急に雨が降って来た。
Suddenly, while we were playing tennis, it began to rain.
行く・いく and 来る・くる are both JLPT N3 grammar points that Japanese learners often mix up. This page compares them side by side — meanings, usage and example sentences — so you can tell them apart.