In Japanese, there are two main ways to express desire: one for actions and one for things. Mastering these will help you talk about your own wishes and also share what others want.
Desiring an Action: The 「～たい」 Form
To say you want to do something, you use the -tai form. This form is only used for your own desires. To create it, take a verb from its -masu form and replace -masu with -tai.
- Verb -masu form → Verb -tai form
- 食べます (tabemasu)
to eat→ 食べたい (tabetai)want to eat - 行きます (ikimasu)
to go→ 行きたい (ikitai)want to go
The particle for the object of your desire is usually 「を」 (o) or 「が」 (ga). Using 「が」 is more common in this case.
Examples：
- 私(わたし)は ラーメンが 食べたい(たべたい)です。
Watashi wa raamen ga tabetai desu.I want to eat ramen. - 私は 日本(にほん)に 行きたい(いきたい)です。
Watashi wa Nihon ni ikitai desu.I want to go to Japan.
Just like with i-adjectives, you can make the -tai form past tense by changing -tai to -takatta.
- 寿司(すし)が 食べたかった(たべたかった)です。
Sushi ga tabetakatta desu.I wanted to eat sushi.
Describing Someone Else’s Desires
You cannot use -tai to directly describe what another person wants. It would be unnatural, as you can’t know for sure what’s in their mind. Instead, you use a different form that expresses what they seem to want.
1. The 「～たがる」 Form
To say what someone else seems to want to do, you use -tagaru. This is the third-person version of -tai. It implies you can see their desire from their behavior (e.g., they look hungry or are talking about it).
- メアリーさんは ラーメンを 食べたがっています。
Mearii-san wa raamen o tabetagatte imasu.Mary seems to want to eat ramen. - メアリーさんは 日本に行きたがっています。
Mearii-san wa Nihon ni ikitagatte imasu.Mary seems to want to go to Japan.
2. Quoting a Desire: 「～たいと言っています」
A more common and polite way to state what someone wants is by quoting them. You use the -tai form followed by 「と言っています」 (to itte imasu), which means “they said that they want to…”
- メアリーさんは ラーメンが 食べたい(たべたい)と 言(い)っています。
Mearii-san wa raamen ga tabetai to itte imasu.Mary said that she wants to eat ramen. - メアリーさんは 日本(にほん)に 行きたい(いきたい)と 言(い)っていました。
Mearii-san wa Nihon ni ikitai to itte imashita.Mary said that she wanted to go to Japan.
Desiring a Thing: The 「ほしい」 Form
While -tai is for actions, you use 「ほしい」 (hoshii) to say you want a thing. ほしい is an i-adjective, so it follows the same rules.
- 私は 新しい(あたらしい) 車(くるま)が ほしいです。
Watashi wa atarashii kuruma ga hoshii desu.I want a new car. - 私は 日本語(にほんご)の 本(ほん)が ほしいです。
Watashi wa nihongo no hon ga hoshii desu.I want a Japanese book.
Just like -tai, you use the -takatta form for the past tense.
- 子供(こども)の時(とき)、犬(いぬ)が 欲しかった(ほしかった)です。
Kodomo no toki, inu ga hoshikatta desu.When I was a child, I wanted a dog.
By using -tai for verbs and hoshii for nouns, you can now clearly express all your hopes and dreams in Japanese!