A2
たい — wanting to do something
How the Japanese たい form expresses wanting, why it conjugates like an い-adjective, and why it cannot be used about other people.
Drop ます, add たい.
行きたいです。
Ikitai desu.
I want to go.
寿司が食べたいです。
Sushi ga tabetai desu.
I want to eat sushi.
It becomes an い-adjective
たい ends in い and behaves exactly like one, so the negative and past come from the adjective rules rather than the verb ones.
| 行きたい | want to go |
| 行きたくない | don’t want to go |
| 行きたかった | wanted to go |
| 行きたくなかった | didn’t want to go |
今日は何もしたくないです。
Kyō wa nani mo shitakunai desu.
I don’t want to do anything today.
を often becomes が
Because the sentence is now describing a state rather than an action, the object can take が. Both are heard; が is the more traditional and slightly more natural.
水が飲みたいです。
Mizu ga nomitai desu.
I want a drink of water.
Only about yourself
This is the part with no English equivalent. たい states an internal feeling, and Japanese does not let you assert someone else’s. About a third person you need たがっている — is showing signs of wanting.
彼は行きたいです。
彼は行きたがっています。
You cannot know what he wants, only what he appears to want. In a question directed at the person themselves たい is fine: 行きたいですか。
Even that question is worth using carefully. 行きたいですか can sound blunt to someone senior, and an invitation is usually softer: 行きませんか。