"I want to go to Japan." "I want to eat ramen." In Japanese, expressing "I want to do something" uses たい. It attaches to verbs and expresses the speaker's desire. At N5, mastering the basics is all you need.
How to Attach It: ます-Stem + たい
Verb ます-form → drop ます → add たい
| Verb | ます-form | たい-form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 行く | 行きます | 行きたい | want to go |
| 食べる | 食べます | 食べたい | want to eat |
| 見る | 見ます | 見たい | want to see |
| 買う | 買います | 買いたい | want to buy |
| 飲む | 飲みます | 飲みたい | want to drink |
| する | します | したい | want to do |
The pattern is straightforward: drop ます, add たい.
たい Conjugates Like an い-Adjective
Since たい ends in い, it follows the same conjugation pattern as い-adjectives:
| Form | Conjugation | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Affirmative | 〜たい | 行きたいです | want to go |
| Negative | 〜たくない | 行きたくないです | don't want to go |
| Past affirmative | 〜たかった | 行きたかったです | wanted to go |
| Past negative | 〜たくなかった | 行きたくなかったです | didn't want to go |
Same as い-adjectives: い → くない → かった → くなかった.
Example Sentences
日本に行きたいです。 → I want to go to Japan. パンを食べたいです。 → I want to eat bread. テレビを見たいです。 → I want to watch TV. 今日は何もしたくないです。 → I don't want to do anything today. あの映画が見たかったです。 → I wanted to see that movie.
Particle Swap: を Can Become が
The object particle を before たい can optionally become が — both are correct:
水を飲みたいです。 → I want to drink water. 水が飲みたいです。 → I want to drink water.
Using が adds a slightly stronger sense of desire. At N5, either is fine — don't overthink it.
Important: たい Is Mainly for First Person
たい expresses the speaker's own desire. You can use it in questions to ask others, but you shouldn't use it to describe a third person's wishes directly:
| Usage | Example |
|---|---|
| About yourself | 私は寿司が食べたいです。 → I want to eat sushi. |
| Asking someone | 何が食べたいですか。 → What do you want to eat? |
| About someone else |
To talk about what someone else wants to do, you'd use たがっている — but that's N4 material. Don't worry about it yet.
Summary
- Verb ます-stem + たい = "want to do..."
- たい conjugates like an い-adjective: たい → たくない → たかった → たくなかった
- The object particle を can optionally become が (が feels stronger)
- たい is mainly for first person and questions
Practice Quiz
Q1. Turn 「飲む」 into the "want to drink" form.
Show Answer
飲みたい（です）
飲む → ます-form: 飲みます → drop ます → 飲み → add たい → 飲みたい.
Q2. What does 「行きたくなかったです」 mean?
Show Answer
I didn't want to go.
行きたい (want to go) → 行きたくない (don't want to go) → 行きたくなかった (didn't want to go). Same pattern as い-adjective conjugation.
Q3. How do you say "What do you want to eat?" in Japanese?
Show Answer
何が食べたいですか。
何 (what) + が + 食べたい (want to eat) + ですか. You can use たい in questions directed at the listener.