What is 〜たい (tai)?
〜たい expresses the speaker's desire to do something. It means "want to (do)" and is primarily used for first-person statements about your own wishes.
[Verb stem] + たい
食べたい
"want to eat"
行きたい
"want to go"
Formation
Basic Pattern
Verb (masu-stem) + たい
Plain: 〜たい
Polite: 〜たいです
食べる → 食べます → 食べたい / 食べたいです
"want to eat"
行く → 行きます → 行きたい / 行きたいです
"want to go"
Finding the Verb Stem
Remove ます from the masu-form:
食べます → 食べ → 食べたい
読みます → 読み → 読みたい
見ます → 見 → 見たい
来ます → 来 → 来たい
します → し → したい
Core Usage
First Person (I want to)
Primarily used for speaker's own desires.
日本に行きたい
"I want to go to Japan"
寿司を食べたい
"I want to eat sushi"
日本語を勉強したい
"I want to study Japanese"
映画を見たい
"I want to watch a movie"
Conjugation Like I-adjectives
たい conjugates like an i-adjective, not a verb.
Present Affirmative
食べたい / 食べたいです
"want to eat"
行きたい / 行きたいです
"want to go"
Present Negative
食べたくない / 食べたくないです
"don't want to eat"
行きたくない / 行きたくないです
"don't want to go"
Past Affirmative
食べたかった / 食べたかったです
"wanted to eat"
行きたかった / 行きたかったです
"wanted to go"
Past Negative
食べたくなかった / 食べたくなかったです
"didn't want to eat"
行きたくなかった / 行きたくなかったです
"didn't want to go"
Particle Usage
が or を with Object
With たい, you can use either が or を for the object:
寿司が食べたい ✓
寿司を食べたい ✓
"I want to eat sushi"
映画が見たい ✓
映画を見たい ✓
"I want to watch a movie"
Note: が emphasizes the object more, を is more neutral. が is slightly more common with たい.
Question Forms
Direct Questions (for asking others)
何が食べたい？
"What do you want to eat?"
どこに行きたい？
"Where do you want to go?"
何をしたいですか？
"What do you want to do?"
About Third Person
Use たがる instead (covered in next article):
Less natural: 彼は何が食べたい？ ⚠️
Better: 彼は何を食べたがっている？ ✓
"What does he want to eat?"
Common Patterns
〜たいと思う (I think I want to)
Softens the statement.
日本に行きたいと思います
"I think I want to go to Japan"
映画を見たいと思う
"I think I want to watch a movie"
〜たいんです (explanatory)
Explains your desire.
日本に行きたいんです
"The thing is, I want to go to Japan"
質問したいんですが
"I want to ask a question (and...)"
〜たくて (because I want to)
Te-form for reason.
日本に行きたくて、貯金している
"Because I want to go to Japan, I'm saving money"
会いたくて、来ました
"Because I wanted to see you, I came"
とても/すごく〜たい (really want to)
Emphasizing strong desire.
とても食べたい
"really want to eat"
すごく会いたい
"really want to meet"
めちゃくちゃ行きたい
"really, really want to go"
Politeness Levels
Casual
行きたい
"I want to go"
食べたくない
"I don't want to eat"
Polite
行きたいです
"I want to go"
食べたくないです / 食べたくありません
"I don't want to eat"
Common Verbs with たい
Daily Activities
食べたい - want to eat
飲みたい - want to drink
寝たい - want to sleep
休みたい - want to rest
遊びたい - want to play
Movement
行きたい - want to go
来たい - want to come
帰りたい - want to go home/return
出かけたい - want to go out
旅行したい - want to travel
Communication
話したい - want to talk
聞きたい - want to listen/ask
見たい - want to see/watch
会いたい - want to meet
知りたい - want to know
Activities
勉強したい - want to study
働きたい - want to work
買いたい - want to buy
作りたい - want to make
読みたい - want to read
Common Conversations
Example 1: Making Plans
A: 今日、何がしたい？
"What do you want to do today?"
B: 映画を見たい
"I want to watch a movie"
A: いいね！何が見たい？
"Nice! What do you want to watch?"
B: アクション映画が見たい
"I want to watch an action movie"
Example 2: Lunch Decision
A: お昼、何が食べたい？
"What do you want to eat for lunch?"
B: ラーメンが食べたいな
"I want to eat ramen"
A: 私も！どこに行く？
"Me too! Where should we go?"
Example 3: Future Plans
A: 将来、何がしたい？
"What do you want to do in the future?"
B: 日本で働きたいです
"I want to work in Japan"
A: いいね！頑張ってね
"Nice! Do your best"
Common Mistakes
Mistake 1: Using たい for others' desires directly
Less natural: 彼は行きたい ⚠️
Better: 彼は行きたがっている ✓
"He wants to go"
Or in questions:
Natural: 行きたい？ ✓ (to the person directly)
"Do you want to go?"
Mistake 2: Wrong conjugation
Wrong: 食べたくないかった ❌
Right: 食べたくなかった ✓
"didn't want to eat"
Mistake 3: Using masu-form
Wrong: 食べますたい ❌
Right: 食べたい ✓
"want to eat"
Mistake 4: Adding です to casual forms incorrectly
Wrong: 食べたかったです ⚠️ (should be)
Right: 食べたかったです ✓
"wanted to eat"
Note: Both forms exist, but check your entire sentence's politeness level
Special Expressions
〜たいものだ (really want to)
Expresses strong wish.
一度行ってみたいものだ
"I really want to try going once"
会いたいものだ
"I really want to meet (them)"
〜たいところだ (would like to)
Polite way to express desire.
行きたいところです
"I would like to go"
お願いしたいところです
"I would like to ask (a favor)"
〜たいと思っている (have been wanting to)
Ongoing desire.
ずっと行きたいと思っている
"I've been wanting to go for a long time"
前から会いたいと思っていました
"I've been wanting to meet you"
Expressing Strong Desire
Intensifiers
とても行きたい
"really want to go"
すごく食べたい
"really want to eat"
めちゃくちゃ会いたい
"really, really want to meet"
どうしても行きたい
"want to go no matter what"
Negative Desires
Don't Want To
行きたくない
"don't want to go"
食べたくない
"don't want to eat"
勉強したくない
"don't want to study"
働きたくない
"don't want to work"
With Conditional Forms
〜たかったら (if you want to)
行きたかったら、一緒に行こう
"If you want to go, let's go together"
食べたかったら、どうぞ
"If you want to eat, please do"
〜たければ (if you want to)
行きたければ、行ってもいい
"If you want to go, you may go"
見たければ、見せます
"If you want to see, I'll show you"
Cultural Notes
Indirect Expression
Japanese often uses たい with と思う to sound less direct:
Direct: 行きたい
"I want to go"
Softer: 行きたいと思います
"I think I want to go"
In Questions
When asking about others' desires directly (second person), たい is natural:
何が食べたい？ ✓
"What do you want to eat?"
どこに行きたい？ ✓
"Where do you want to go?"
Practice Sentences
Basic Desires
日本に行きたい
"I want to go to Japan"
寿司が食べたい
"I want to eat sushi"
友達に会いたい
"I want to meet my friend"
映画を見たい
"I want to watch a movie"
Negative
今日は出かけたくない
"I don't want to go out today"
勉強したくない
"I don't want to study"
働きたくない
"I don't want to work"
Past
昨日、寝たかった
"I wanted to sleep yesterday"
日本に行きたかった
"I wanted to go to Japan"
もっと勉強したかった
"I wanted to study more"
With Reasons
疲れたから、休みたい
"Because I'm tired, I want to rest"
日本語を勉強したくて、日本に来た
"Because I wanted to study Japanese, I came to Japan"
会いたくて、電話した
"Because I wanted to see you, I called"
Questions
何がしたいですか？
"What do you want to do?"
どこに行きたい？
"Where do you want to go?"
何を食べたい？
"What do you want to eat?"
いつ会いたい？
"When do you want to meet?"
Related Grammar Points
- 〜たがる (tagaru) - Want to (3rd person)
- 〜ほしい (hoshii) - Want something
- 〜てほしい (te-hoshii) - Want someone to do
- I-adjective Conjugation - Similar conjugation pattern
- 〜たいと思う - Softening expressions
- Desire Expressions - Overview of want/desire