Video
Let’s watch this short video for a quick overview.
Source: gokigen japanese official YouTube Channel
Introduction
Want to say:
- “I want to eat sushi”
- “I want to study Japanese”
- “I don’t want to go to work”
In Japanese, there’s a super useful way to express what you want to do using:
Verb stem + たい
= I want to ~
Let’s learn how to talk about our wishes and desires in Japanese — and sound natural while doing it!
1. Grammar Structure
Pattern: Verb (stem) + たい
Meaning: I want to…
| English | Japanese |
|---|---|
| I want to eat tempura. | 天ぷらを食べたいです。 |
| I don’t want to go out. | 出かけたくないです。 |
2. How to Form It
To use V-stem + たい, follow these steps:
- Take the stem form of the verb (remove ます from ます-form)
- Attach たい to the verb stem.
| Verb (ます-form) | Stem | +たい | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 食べます | 食べ | 食べたい | want to eat |
| 話します | 話し | 話したい | want to speak |
| 行きます | 行き | 行きたい | want to go |
| 勉強します | 勉強し | 勉強したい | want to study |
3. Conjugation of たい
You can treat the たい ending as an い-adjective, and conjugate it as such:
| Form | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Present | 行きたい | want to go |
| Present Negative | 行きたくない | don’t want to go |
| Past | 行きたかった | wanted to go |
| Past Negative | 行きたくなかった | didn’t want to go |
4. Important Note About Usage
Don’t use たい to talk directly about other people’s desires.
Example: Your sister said that she wants to go shopping.
- NG: 姉はかいものに行きたいです。= My sister wants to go shopping.
In this case, use reported speech or other patterns to express third-person desire naturally.
- OK: 姉はかいものに行きたいと言っていました。= My sister said she wanted to go shopping.
- OK: 姉はかいものに行きたがっています。= My sister wants to go shopping.
- ～たがっている: wants to do ~ [third person]
While ～たい behaves like an i-adjective and conjugates accordingly (～たい / ～たくない / ～たかった / ～たくなかった), ～たがっている does not conjugate like an i-adjective. Instead, it conjugates as a verb phrase based on ～ている:
| Form | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Present | 行きたがっている | wants to go |
| Present Negative | 行きたがっていない | doesn’t want to go |
| Past | 行きたがっていた | wanted to go |
| Past Negative | 行きたがっていなかった | didn’t want to go |
5. Examples in Conversation
A: 夕食は何を食べたいですか。
What are you having for dinner?
B: とんこつラーメンを食べたいです。
I want to eat tonkotsu ramen.
A: 休みがあったらどこに行きたいですか。
Where would you like to go if you had a day off?
B: 京都に行きたいです。
I want to go to Kyoto.
A: 日本に行ったら何をしたいですか。
What would you like to do when you go to Japan?
B: 日本人と日本語で話したいです。
I want to speak with Japanese people in Japanese.
6. Practice Time!
Convert these into たい sentences:
| Base | Form | + たい | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 習う (to learn) | Positive | 習いたい | want to learn |
| 会う (to meet) | Negative | 会いたくない | don’t want to meet |
| 泳ぐ (to swim) | Positive | 泳ぎたい | want to swim |
| 休む (to rest) | Past, Positive | 休みたかった | wanted to rest |
| 働く (to work) | Past, Negative | 働きたくなかった | didn’t want to work |
Bonus: Reported Speech Practice
- My older brother said he wants to become a researcher.
→ 兄は研究者になりたいと言っていました。 - Rina said she wants to travel more.
→リナさんはもっと旅行に行きたいと言っていました。
FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions
- QCan I use this with any verb?
- A
Yes — as long as it’s in the stem form. Just remember to conjugate たい like an い-adjective.
- QCan I say “I want a thing” with たい?
- A
No — use ～がほしい for nouns:
- パソコンがほしいです = I want a computer
Or you can say:
- パソコンを買いたいです = I want to buy a computer
- QWhen using 〜たい, should I use the particle 「を」 or 「が」 for the object of the verb?
- A
While the original verb might take 「を」 (e.g., 寿司を食べる – eat sushi), when you attach 「〜たい」, the object can be marked by either 「を」 or 「が」. Both are frequently used, but using 「が」 often emphasizes the object you want.
- 寿司を食べたいです。(Sushi o tabetai desu.) – Standard, emphasizes the action of eating sushi.
- 寿司が食べたいです。(Sushi ga tabetai desu.) – Emphasizes “sushi” as the thing you particularly want to eat.
Note: When using ～たがっている (to describe a third person’s desire), the object must be marked with を, not が.
- ✅ ジョンは寿司を食べたがっています。= John wants to eat sushi. (John shows signs of wanting sushi.)
- ❌ ジョンは寿司が食べたがっています。(Unnatural / incorrect)
- QCan I use 〜たい to talk about what someone else (not me) wants to do?
- A
Directly stating someone else’s desire with 「〜たいです」 is generally avoided, because you cannot know another person’s feelings for sure. It can sound like you’re assuming their feelings. Instead, you should use indirect methods:
- Reporting what they said: 〜たいと言っていました (〜tai to itte imashita – they said they want to ~)
- Reporting based on their appearance/behavior:
〜たそうです (〜ta sou desu – I hear they want to ~),
〜たいみたいです (〜tai mitai desu – it seems they want to ~),
〜たがっています (〜tagatte imasu – they show signs of wanting to ~
– this form specifically indicates outward manifestation of desire and is used for 3rd person, but requires careful learning).
- QWhy does 「〜たい」 conjugate like an い-adjective?
- A
he 「〜たい」 form behaves grammatically like an い-adjective. This means it can directly modify nouns (e.g., 食べたいもの – tabetai mono = things I want to eat) and follows the same negative and past tense conjugation rules as い-adjectives (〜くない, 〜かった, 〜くなかった). This is just how the grammar evolved in Japanese.
Conclusion
Now you can:
✅ Express what you want to do
✅ Use negative and past forms of たい
✅ Report other people’s desires naturally
🎯 Try this:
Write 3 sentences using たい・たくない・たかった！
