LESSON NOTES · レッスンノート

N4Lesson notes · Oct 8, 2026

Bring in Japanese: 持もってくる (motte kuru) vs 持もっていく (motte iku)

Japanese has no single word for "bring" — you choose between 持もってくる (it comes toward the speaker's side) and 持もっていく (it goes away to somewhere else), and for people and animals you switch to 連つれてくる and 連つれていく.

Most learners meet "bring = 持もってくる" in a vocabulary list and apply it everywhere. It works in a classroom, then breaks the first time you say you will bring something to a party. The fix is one question you can ask in half a second, and once you have it, 〜てくる and 〜ていく start making sense in many other sentences too.

The basics

What is the difference between 持もってくる and 持もっていく?

持もってくる means the thing ends up where the speaker is (or treats as home base). 持もっていく means the thing ends up somewhere else. The English verbs "bring" and "take" carve the world a little differently, so neither one maps cleanly onto the Japanese pair.

Both verbs are built the same way: 持もつ (to hold, to carry) in the te-form, then a movement verb. 来くる (to come) gives you the "toward" version, and 行いく (to go) gives you the "away" version. If you are shaky on how 持もって is made, the te-form guide walks through it.

明日あした、お弁当べんとうを持もってきてください。 — Please bring a lunch box tomorrow. (polite, a teacher speaking from the school, so the lunch comes toward the speaker) 明日あした、お弁当べんとうを持もっていきます。 — I will take a lunch box tomorrow. (polite, you are talking about going somewhere else)

The sentences are almost identical. Only the last verb moves, and it moves because the speaker's position changed.

Why do learners get this wrong at a party?

Because in English "I'll bring a drink" sounds the same wherever you are standing. In Japanese it does not. If you are at home and talking about a party you have not gone to yet, the party is over there, so you need 持もっていく.

パーティーに飲み物のみものを持もっていきます。 — I will bring drinks to the party. (polite, you are not at the party yet) 何なにか持もっていきましょうか。 — Shall I bring something? (polite, a guest asking the host beforehand) 何なにか持もってきてね。 — Bring something, okay? (casual, the host speaking from the party's side)

Notice that the guest and the host use different verbs for the very same drink. Each of them picks the verb from where the destination sits relative to their own position when they speak. After you arrive and hand the bag over, the destination is now "here", so you switch: 飲み物のみものを持もってきました.

For the words around the gift itself, the post on gifts and presents in Japanese covers プレゼント and 贈り物おくりもの.

How do you decide in half a second?

Ask: where does the thing end up, and is that where I am?

Situation Verb Why
A thing arrives where you are now 持もってくる Destination is "here"
You carry a thing to a place you are not at 持もっていく Destination is "there"
You go off, grab something, and return to this spot 持もってくる You are heading back to "here"
You walk to the listener's place with something 持もっていく Destination is the listener's side

The last row surprises people. Japanese treats the listener's place as "there" and says you go to it, which is the same reason you say 今いま行いきます ("I'm coming") rather than 今来こんらいます when a friend calls you.

すぐ持もっていきます。 — I will bring it right away. (polite, a shop worker on the phone, moving toward the customer)

How do you write and conjugate them?

In hiragana, the two verbs are もってくる and もっていく. Writers often use hiragana for the second half (くる, いく) because it works like an auxiliary rather than a full movement verb, but 持もって来くる and 持もって行いく are also correct.

Here are the forms you need first, including the masu form that people search for:

Form 持もってくる (toward) 持もっていく (away)
Dictionary 持もってくる 持もっていく
Masu form 持もってきます 持もっていきます
Te-form 持もってきて 持もっていって
Negative 持もってこない 持もっていかない
Past 持もってきた 持もっていった

Two quirks hide in the table. 来くる is irregular (きます, きて, こない), and 行いく has an irregular te-form (行いって, so 持もっていって, not 持もっていいて). Everything before the movement verb stays 持もって.

Particles follow the usual pattern. The thing you carry takes を and the place takes に, so you say パーティーに飲み物のみものを持もっていく. If を is still fuzzy, the を particle guide covers it from scratch.

Beyond the basics

How do you bring a person or an animal?

Use 連つれてくる (toward) and 連つれていく (away). 連つれる means to take someone along with you, and it only works for living things that can walk with you: friends, children, pets.

来週らいしゅう、友ともだちを連つれていってもいいですか。 — Can I bring a friend next week? (polite, asking the host; you are the one going there) よかったら、ご家族かぞくも連つれてきてください。 — If you like, please bring your family too. (polite, the host inviting guests to come) 犬いぬを連つれてきました。 — I brought my dog. (polite, you have already arrived) 子こどもを病院びょういんに連つれていきます。 — I will take my child to the hospital. (polite, away from here)

People and things use different verbs because you do not carry a friend in your hand. 友ともだちを持もっていく is not "bring a friend", it is a rather alarming sentence.

There is a nice link to grammar you may already know. 友ともだちが来くる means a friend comes on their own. 友ともだちを連つれてくる means you make that happen. That is the same intransitive-and-transitive logic as in the transitive and intransitive verbs guide, just stretched across two verbs.

What do you say in formal Japanese, and what is 持ち込もちこむ?

持参じさんする is the formal, written way to say "bring along", and it ignores direction completely. That is why you see it on notices and invitations, where the writer cannot know whether the reader will say "here" or "there".

筆記用具ひっきようぐをご持参じさんください。 — Please bring your own writing tools. (very polite, a printed notice) お弁当持参べんとうじさんでお越こしください。 — Please come bringing your own lunch. (polite, an invitation)

Two more "bring" verbs deserve a place in your toolbox, and one of them is the closest match to "bring in":

  • 持ち込もちこむ — to bring something into a place. You will see it in rules: 飲食物いんしょくぶつの持ち込もちこみはご遠慮えんりょください (please refrain from bringing in food and drinks).
  • 持ち帰もちかえる — to take something home or away. In shops, お持ち帰もちかえりですか asks whether the order is to go.

When the thing being brought in is an idea rather than an object, Japanese uses 取り入とりいれる: 新あたらしいアイデアを取り入とりいれる ("to bring in new ideas").

Why do 〜てくる and 〜ていく show up everywhere?

Because 持もってくる and 持もっていく are just two members of a big family: any action verb in the te-form plus 来くる or 行いく. The same arrow logic stays in place.

コンビニで水みずを買かってくるね。 — I will go buy some water at the convenience store. (casual, you leave, buy it, and come back) 傘かさを持もっていったほうがいいよ。 — You should take an umbrella. (casual, advice before someone goes out)

買かってくる really means "go, buy, and come back". The く of 〜てくる carries the return trip, and that is exactly the same shape as 持もってくる when you go fetch something from another room. The family also stretches into time: 寒さむくなってきた means "it has been getting cold" and the arrow points from the past toward now.

How do these verbs sound in real conversation and anime?

Spoken Japanese shortens them fast. 持もっていく becomes 持もってく, 持もっていって becomes 持もってって, and 連つれていって becomes 連つれてって. The い disappears because it is weak in rapid speech.

私わたしも連つれてって! — Take me with you too! (casual, contraction of 連つれていって) ちょっと待まってて、すぐ持もってくる。 — Wait a sec, I will go get it and bring it back. (casual, leaving and returning to this spot)

Listen for this in anime, where a character runs off to fetch something and shouts that they will bring it, or a gruff character barks an order to a subordinate. The rough command form is 持もってこい, which is fine to recognize but not something to say to your teacher. A child begging to join a trip is a classic place to hear 連つれてって.

When you hear a contracted 持もってく, do not panic about direction. The contraction hides the い, but your ear can still run the same test: is the speaker staying put or leaving?

Common mistakes

  • Treating "bring" as one verb. Saying 持もってきます about a party you are going to attend sounds as if you are already there. Say 持もっていきます until you arrive.
  • Using 持もつ for people. 子こどもを持もっていく is not "take my child". Use 連つれていく.
  • Reversing the verb when someone asks you for a delivery. If a customer at the table says "Could you bring me some water?", the destination is the table, so it is お水みずを持もってきてください, not 持もっていって.
  • Mixing up particles. The thing takes を and the destination takes に: パーティーにケーキを持もっていく. パーティーを持もっていく means "carry the party".
  • Using 持参じさん in casual speech. It is correct, but telling a friend 飲み物のみものを持参じさんしてね sounds like a form letter. Between friends, use 持もってきて.
  • Forgetting that 持もつ alone just means "hold". 傘かさを持もつ is "to hold an umbrella". The moving part is only added by 〜てくる and 〜ていく.

Practice

Build each answer before opening it. Questions 1 and 2 are a pair, and so are 5 and 6 — same idea, opposite direction.

1. You are the host, already at the party, and you want to ask a guest "Please bring something."

Show answer

何なにか持もってきてください — the party is where you are speaking, so the thing comes toward you: 持もってくる.

2. You are at home and tell a friend "I will bring a cake to tomorrow's party."

Show answer

明日あしたのパーティーにケーキを持もっていきます — the party is somewhere else, so the thing goes away: 持もっていく.

3. You are in a restaurant. Ask a waiter "Please bring some water."

Show answer

お水みずを持もってきてください — the destination is your table, which is "here" for the speaker.

4. A customer calls the shop. You are the shop worker and answer "I will bring it right away."

Show answer

すぐ持もっていきます — you move toward the listener's place, which counts as "there", the same way 今いま行いきます works for "I'm coming".

5. Ask your host "Can I bring a friend next week?" — you are the one going there.

Show answer

来週らいしゅう、友ともだちを連つれていってもいいですか — a person needs 連つれる, and the destination is the host's place, so 連つれていく.

6. Now you are already at the host's door with your dog. Say "I brought my dog."

Show answer

犬いぬを連つれてきました — an animal needs 連つれる, and you have arrived, so the direction flips to 連つれてくる.

7. Fix this: 友ともだちを持もっていきます。

Show answer

友ともだちを連つれていきます — 持もつ is for things you carry in the hand. Friends and pets take 連つれる.

8. A printed notice says "Please bring your own writing tools." Which formal word fits?

Show answer

筆記用具ひっきようぐをご持参じさんください — 持参じさん is formal and does not mark direction, so a writer can use it for any reader.

9. Make 連つれていって casual, as in a child begging to join a trip.

Show answer

連つれてって — the い of ていって is dropped in fast casual speech. 私わたしも連つれてって! is a very natural plea.

10. Fill in the particles: パーティー( )飲み物のみもの( )持もっていく。

Show answer

に、を — に marks the destination and を marks the thing you carry: パーティーに飲み物のみものを持もっていく.

Bringing a dish to a party is the classic case for 持もってくる and 持もっていく, so plan a pretend party invitation in a trial lesson and see which verb each sentence needs.

FAQ

Is there one Japanese word for "bring"? No. 持もってくる and 持もっていく cover things, 連つれてくる and 連つれていく cover people and animals, and 持参じさん is the formal written option. English "bring" and "take" also split by direction, but the dividing line sits in a different place in Japanese.

Can I say 持もってくる when I am going to the party myself? Only after you have arrived, or when you are speaking from the party's side. Before you leave, use 持もっていく. If you cannot decide, 持参じさんする or the plain statement ケーキを用意よういします ("I will prepare a cake") is a safe way around the direction problem.

Is 連つれてくる rude when I talk about people? Not for friends, children, or pets. When the person is someone you should show respect to, Japanese often uses the humble お連つれする: お連つれします ("I will accompany you"). For a casual chat with friends, 連つれてくる is neutral and normal.

Should I write くる and いく in kanji or hiragana? Both are acceptable. 持もってくる and 持もって来くる mean the same, and 持もっていく and 持もって行いく mean the same. Hiragana is common for the second verb because it works as an auxiliary, and it is easier for a learner to read.

What is the difference between 持ち込もちこむ and 持もってくる? 持ち込もちこむ stresses carrying something into a particular place, such as a building or a room, and is common in rules and notices. 持もってくる just says the thing comes toward the speaker, with no focus on crossing into a space.

Vocabulary from this article

Tap the block to select all of it, then copy. In Anki: File → Import, note type Basic, separator Tab — the first column becomes the front, the second the back.

持つ	もつ — to hold, to carry
持ってくる	もってくる — to bring (toward the speaker)
持っていく	もっていく — to take, to bring (away from the speaker)
連れる	つれる — to take (a person or animal) along
連れてくる	つれてくる — to bring (a person or animal) here
連れていく	つれていく — to take (a person or animal) there
持参	じさん — bringing along (formal)
持ち込む	もちこむ — to bring into a place
持ち帰る	もちかえる — to take home, to take away
取り入れる	とりいれる — to bring in, to adopt
お弁当	おべんとう — lunch box
飲み物	のみもの — drink
買ってくる	かってくる — to go buy and come back
友だち	ともだち — friend
筆記用具	ひっきようぐ — writing tools
傘	かさ — umbrella
犬	いぬ — dog

I'm Yuuki, a Japanese teacher based in Tokyo. I've taught on italki as a Top 1% teacher and watched over 1,500 anime, so most of the example sentences on this blog come from lines I've actually heard students ask about — including this one, where "bring" turns up in nearly every learner's first party invitation. For practice with feedback, Book a trial lesson · $13, or work through Japanese practice exercises first.

Sources: the author's own lessons and standard reference grammars.

More drills like the ones above, plus a timed JLPT-style mock test: Practice · N4 · Read something at this level: JLPT N4 stories with audio

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