たい (tai
) is an auxiliary verb (suffix) used in Japanese to express an action you want to do.
When a verb is conjugated with たい, the speaker states a desire to do the action expressed by the verb.
In this post we are going to see how to conjugate verbs with たい, how to use it, and what meaning it conveys, through real examples of its use.
How たい is formed in Japanese
たい is an auxiliary that is applied to a verb to add the meaning of want to
.
An auxiliary verb is a verb used in combination with another one to give a particular meaning to the verb form
The auxiliary たい is added to the conjunctive form 連用形 of the verb to which it is applied , the same used to conjugate the polite form:
Let's see an example with the ichidan verb to eat
食べる:
ピザが食べたい。
I want to eat pizza.
Let's also see an example with the godan verb 行く to go
:
Conjugations of たい as an adjective
たい is conjugated like an い adjective to form the negative, the past, and other various verb forms:
コーヒーを飲みたくない。
I don't want to drink coffee.
The kanji form of たい is 度い
When to use たい in Japanese
Different expressions are used in Japanese to distinguish and indicate what you want from what others want.
You cannot express what others want with たい. In these cases, other expressions are used, such as たがる.
たい is used to state what you want, and cannot be used to mean what others want. In particular, たい is used:
- When you want to express what you yourself want
- To ask what someone else wants
Express what you yourself want
The most common use of たい is to indicate what you yourself want to do.
漢字を勉強したい。
I want to study kanji.
今日は、早く寝たいです。
Today I want to go to sleep early.
Ask what others want
たい can also be used in questions to ask our interlocutor what he wants to do:
何を食べたい?
What do you want to eat?
パーティーへ行きたいですか?
Do you want to go to the party?
Particle が or を
たい can be used with both the が particle and the を particle.
The difference in meaning is that が indicates a more intense desire than を to do what is expressed by the verb.
It's also more natural to use が when the thing you want is specific:
音楽を聞きたいです。
I want to listen to music.
In this example, the particle を is used, since music
音楽 is a general concept.
If, on the other hand, we want to specify what kind of music, author, genre, then it is more natural to use the particle が:
トムさんの曲が聞きたいです。
I want to listen to Tom's song.
たい and たいと思う
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Support us to unlockExamples of たい in Japanese
彼女に来てもらいたくない。
I don't want her to come.
東京に行きたいですか
Do you want to go to Tokyo?
私たちは三泊したいです。
We want to stay for three nights.