Japanese Grammar – Express Want (Part 2)

Japanese Grammar: Expressing Desire in Japanese Part 2 – Review Notes

Last time, we learned how to say I want (something) in Japanese. Today we will learn how to say I want to do (something) in Japanese! (◕ω<)☆

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Two ways to Express Desire in Japanese

★　As we learned last time, there are two ways to express desire in Japanese!

★　Last time we learned how to say I want ___ which is used only with nouns (objects)! If you missed our last grammar lesson, click here!

★　Today we will learn how to say I want to do ___ which is used with verbs (actions)!

★　When you want to say that you want to do something (action/verb) you must add 〜たい (tai) to the stem of the masu-verb.

★　To get the stem of a masu-verb, just take off ます (masu).

★　For example, the stem of the verb 食べます (tabemasu) – to eat – is 食べ (tabe).

★　If you add たい (tai) to the verb stem, you get 食べたい (tabetai) – want to eat.

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Examples:

ケーキが食べたいです。

Kēki ga tabetai desu.

I want to eat cake.

日本に行きたいです。

Nihon ni ikitai desu.

I want to go to Japan.

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Talking About Other People’s Desires

★　Just like we learned last time with ほしい (hoshii), if you want to express somebody else’s desires, you have to say it differently.

★　Instead of adding 〜たい (tai) to the verb stem, you must add たがっている (tagatteiru) or the more formal version たがっています (tagatteimasu) to the verb stem.

★　The reason is because only oneself can ever really know what he/she really wants. Adding -gatteiru adds a layer of uncertainty and is therefore used when talking about someone else’s wants.

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Examples:

彼はケーキを食べたがっています。

Kare wa kēki o tabetagatteimasu.

He wants to eat cake.

彼女は日本に行きたがっています。

Kanojo wa nihon ni ikitagatteimasu.

She wants to go to Japan.

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A few words on Particles

★　When using 〜たい (tai) in a sentence, the direct object marker を (o) can be replaced with the subject marker が (ga).

★　For example, the two sentences below mean the same thing.

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Using direct object marker を (o):

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ジュースを飲みたいです。

Jūsu o nomitai desu.

I want to drink juice.

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Using subject marker が (ga):

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ジュースが飲みたいです。

Jūsu ga nomitai desu.

I want to drink juice.

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★　When using たがっています (tagatteimasu) in a sentence, the direct object particle を (o) can not be replaced with が (ga).

★　Other particles are used as normal. For example, in the sentence 日本に行きたいです (nihon ni ikitai desu) – I want to go to Japan – the direction particle ni is used.

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Other forms; conjugations of 〜たい

★　If you want to change to past tense or negative,  たい (tai) is conjugated just like an i-adjective. Here is a quick reference to some of the conjugations using the example 食べたい (want to eat):

Past Affirmative: wanted to eat

食べたかった (tabetakatta)

Present Negative: don’t want to eat

食べたくない (tabetakunai) 

Past Negative: didn’t want to eat

食べたくなかった (tabetakunakatta)

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☆Additional Example Sentences☆

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今日は早く寝たいです。

Kyō wa hayaku netai desu.

I want to go to sleep early today.

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日本語を勉強したいです。

Nihongo o benkyō shitai desu.

I want to study Japanese.

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買い物に行きたいです。

Kaimono ni ikitai desu.

I want to go shopping.

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映画を見たいです。

Eiga o mitai desu.

I want to watch a movie.

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Conclusion:

Today we learned how to say I want to do (something) in Japanese!

If you still didn’t see our last grammar lesson, click here to learn how to express desire for an object in Japanese! (◕ω◕)♪

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Get Japanese dictionary!

Do you want to know a lot of Japanese words? I recommend you to get a dictionary!

If you have dictionary, you can always look up new Japanese words\(◕ω◕)/♥

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Do you want a Japanese tutor?

Take Japanese Skype Lessons with Professional Japanese Teachers on kakehashijapan.com!

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