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.
| 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!
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")
Pay attention to the particles used with ～たいです. They function similarly to how they function with the original verb.
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.
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.
～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".
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:
For example:
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:
Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verb, using ～たいです or ～たくないです.