I Want To... Expressing Desires (～たいです)

Expressing what you want to do in Japanese is commonly done using the ～たいです (tai desu) form. This is added to the stem of a verb. ～たいです transforms the verb into an "I want to..." statement. It's a fundamental part of expressing personal desires and intentions.

How to Form ～たいです

1. Take the masu-stem of the verb (remove ます from the ます-form). This is also known as the pre-ます form.
2. Add たいです.

Verb (Dictionary Form)	Masu-form	Stem	Want to... (～たいです)	Romaji Example	English Translation
食べる (taberu)	食べます	食べ	食べたいです	tabetai desu	I want to eat.
行く (iku)	行きます	行き	行きたいです	ikitai desu	I want to go.
見る (miru)	見ます	見	見たいです	mitai desu	I want to see/watch.
飲む (nomu)	飲みます	飲み	飲みたいです	nomitai desu	I want to drink.
勉強する (benkyou suru)	勉強します	勉強し	勉強したいです	benkyou shitai desu	I want to study.
寝る (neru)	寝ます	寝	寝たいです	netai desu	I want to sleep.
泳ぐ (oyogu)	泳ぎます	泳ぎ	泳ぎたいです	oyogitai desu	I want to swim.

Important Note on する Verbs: For verbs ending in する (suru), like 勉強する (benkyou suru - to study), you remove the する and add したい (shitai). So, 勉強する becomes 勉強したいです (benkyou shitai desu). This applies to many common verbs!

Example Sentences

• 寿司を食べたいです。
  Sushi o tabetai desu.
  I want to eat sushi. (The particle を marks sushi as the direct object of the verb "eat")

• 日本に行きたいです。
  Nihon ni ikitai desu.
  I want to go to Japan. (The particle に indicates direction, "to" Japan)

• 映画を見たいです。
  Eiga o mitai desu.
  I want to watch a movie. (Again, を marks the movie as the object of the verb "watch")

• 新しい車を買いたいです。 Atarashii kuruma o kaitai desu. I want to buy a new car. (新しい means "new")

• 友達と遊びたいです。 Tomodachi to asobitai desu. I want to hang out with my friend(s). (と means "with")

• 静かなところで読書したいです。 Shizuka na tokoro de dokusho shitai desu. I want to read a book in a quiet place. (で indicates location; 静かな means "quiet")

More on Particles with ～たいです

Pay attention to the particles used with ～たいです. They function similarly to how they function with the original verb.

• を (o): Marks the direct object of the action you want to perform.
• に (ni): Indicates a direction, a goal, or a target.
• で (de): Indicates a location where you want to do something.
• と (to): Indicates "with" someone.
• が (ga): Can be used instead of を, often emphasizing the object of desire. For example: "ラーメンが食べたいです (Raamen ga tabetai desu)" sounds a bit more like "I REALLY want to eat ramen!".

～たくないです: Expressing What You Don't Want to Do

To express what you don't want to do, use ～たくないです (takunai desu). This is the negative form of ～たいです.

1. Form the ～たい stem (verb stem + たい).
2. Change い to くない.
3. Add です.

Let's look at some examples:

Verb (Dictionary Form)	Want to... (～たいです)	Don't want to... (～たくないです)	Romaji	English Translation
食べる (taberu)	食べたいです	食べたくないです	tabetakunai desu	I don't want to eat.
行く (iku)	行きたいです	行きたくないです	ikitakunai desu	I don't want to go.
見る (miru)	見たいです	見たくないです	mitakunai desu	I don't want to see/watch.
勉強する (benkyou suru)	勉強したいです	勉強したくないです	benkyou shitakunai desu	I don't want to study.

Example Sentences:

• 今日は何も食べたくないです。 Kyou wa nani mo tabetakunai desu. I don't want to eat anything today.

• どこにも行きたくないです。 Doko ni mo ikitakunai desu. I don't want to go anywhere.

Notes

• ～たいです is used to express your own desires. It's generally considered impolite to use ～たいです to directly describe someone else's desires (outside of very close relationships, and even then, often indirectly).

• To ask about someone else's desire (politely and directly), use the question form:
  何を食べたいですか？ (Nani o tabetai desu ka?) — What do you want to eat?

• To talk about someone else's desire in the third person (he/she/they want to...), use ～たがっています (tagatte imasu). This is a more complex grammar point that we'll cover in a later lesson, but it's good to be aware of it. Think of it as "showing signs of wanting to...".

• Informal Usage of ～たい: In casual conversation with close friends and family, you can drop the です and just say ～たい. For example: "ラーメン食べたい (Raamen tabetai)" - "I want to eat ramen".

Potential Confusion: ～たい vs. ～たいと思う

Beginners might also encounter ～たいと思う (tai to omou), which translates to "I think I want to...". There's a subtle difference:

• ～たいです (tai desu): Expresses a direct and definite desire. "I want to..."
• ～たいと思う (tai to omou): Expresses a weaker, more tentative desire. "I think I want to..." or "I'm thinking of wanting to..."

For example:

• 旅行に行きたいです (Ryokou ni ikitai desu): I want to go on a trip. (Strong desire)
• 旅行に行きたいと思っています (Ryokou ni ikitai to omotteimasu): I'm thinking of going on a trip. (Less firm, more of a consideration).

Practice

Translate the following into Japanese using ～たいです or ～たくないです, and indicate if it is an Affirmative (A) or Negative (N) sentence:

1. I want to drink coffee. (A)
2. I want to buy a book. (A)
3. I want to meet my friend. (A)
4. I don't want to watch TV tonight. (N)
5. I want to go to the beach this summer. (A)
6. I don't want to wake up early tomorrow. (N)
7. I want to learn Japanese. (A)

Answers:

1. コーヒーを飲みたいです。 (*Kōhī o nomitai desu.*) (A)
2. 本を買いたいです。 (*Hon o kaitai desu.*) (A)
3. 友達に会いたいです。 (*Tomodachi ni aitai desu.*) (A)
4. 今夜テレビを見たくないです。 (*Konya terebi o mitakunai desu.*) (N)
5. この夏、海に行きたいです。 (*Kono natsu, umi ni ikitai desu.*) (A)
6. 明日早く起きたくないです。 (*Ashita hayaku okitakunai desu.*) (N)
7. 日本語を勉強したいです。 (*Nihongo o benkyou shitai desu.*) (A)

Mini-Quiz: Fill in the Blanks

Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verb, using ～たいです or ～たくないです.

1. 私はピザを (eat) ____________。 (Watashi wa piza o (eat) ____________.)
2. 彼はサッカーを (do) ____________。 (Kare wa sakkaa o (do) ____________.) (Assume this is what he wants to do.)
3. 彼女は宿題を (do) ____________。 (Kanojo wa shukudai o (do) ____________.) (Assume she doesn't want to do it.)
4. 私たちは新しいゲームを (play) ____________。 (Watashitachi wa atarashii geemu o (play) ____________.)
5. 先生は (become) ____________。 (Sensei wa (become) ____________.) (What do you want to become? Fill this in for yourself.)

Answers:

1. 食べたいです (tabetai desu)
2. したいです (shitai desu)
3. したくないです (shitakunai desu)
4. したいです (shitai desu) or 遊びたいです (asobitai desu) - depends if 'play' means 'do' or 'play as in a game'
5. 医者になりたいです (isha ni naritai desu) - example response; use your own!