Expressing Desire: The ใใใ (~tai) Form
To say 'I want to [verb]', you use the ~tai form. This form turns verbs into adjectives, making it extremely easy to conjugate!
How to say 'I want to...'
When you want to express a desire to DO something (like eat, sleep, or go), you attach ใใใ (~tai) to the verb stem.
Importantly, once you attach ~tai, the verb behaves exactly like an i-adjective. This means you conjugate it just like words like 'samui' (cold) or 'takai' (expensive).
Note: ~tai is only used for your OWN desires, or asking a direct question to someone else ('Do you want to...?'). You cannot use it to say 'He wants to...' directly.
Conjugation Rules
Example Sentences
Teacher's Advice (Particles: ใ vs ใ)
When using ~tai, you can use EITHER ใ (o) or ใ (ga) for the object. 'Sushi o tabetai' and 'Sushi ga tabetai' are both correct. However, ใ sounds slightly more natural when you want to emphasize WHAT you want.
Students constantly write ๅฝผใฏ่กใใใใงใ ('He wants to go') โ this is unnatural because you cannot directly know another person's inner desire in Japanese. For third person, use ใใใใฃใฆใใ (่กใใใใฃใฆใใพใ) or report their words with ใใจ่จใฃใฆใใพใใ. The JLPT tests exactly this distinction at N4.
ใใใ is for wanting to DO something (verb): ้ฃในใใ = I want to eat. ใใๆฌฒใใ is for wanting a THING (noun): ่ปใๆฌฒใใ = I want a car. Mixing these up (่ปใ้ฃในใใโฆ) is a classic beginner slip that N5 vocabulary questions love to test.
JLPT Exam Patterns
- โขNegative and past conjugations (~taku nai, ~takatta) (N5)
- โขAnswering 'What do you want to do?' using the correct form (N5)
- โขKnowing that ~tai is ONLY for first-person (I) or second-person (You, in questions), not third-person (He/She) (N5/N4)
- โขDistinguishing ใใใ (want to DO) from ใใๆฌฒใใ (want a THING) (N5)
- โขChoosing ใใใใฃใฆใใ for third-person desire in sentence-completion questions (N4)
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the tai form (ใใใ) mean in Japanese?
The tai form expresses the speaker's desire to do something โ "I want to eat" (้ฃในใใ), "I want to go" (่กใใใ). You attach ใใใ to the verb stem (the ใพใ-form minus ใพใ). It conjugates like an ใ-adjective, so the negative is ใใใใชใ and the past is ใใใใฃใ.
How do you conjugate a verb into the tai form?
Take the ใพใ-form and replace ใพใ with ใใ: ้ฃในใพใ โ ้ฃในใใ, ่กใใพใ โ ่กใใใ, ใใพใ โ ใใใ. Group 1 verbs use the ใ-stem (้ฃฒใ โ ้ฃฒใฟใใ), Group 2 verbs just drop ใ (่ฆใ โ ่ฆใใ), and the irregulars are ใใ โ ใใใ and ๆฅใ โ ๆฅใใ.
Can you use ใใใ to talk about other people's desires?
Not directly. ใใใ is for the speaker's own desire (or direct questions). For a third person, Japanese uses ใใใใฃใฆใใ ("shows signs of wanting to"): ๅฝผใฏๆฅๆฌใซ่กใใใใฃใฆใใ. This distinction is regularly tested on the JLPT N5 and N4.
Related Grammar
Practice the ~tai form
Drill the affirmative, negative, and past forms of ~tai until they become second nature.