～たい
Say what you want to do
You’ll be able to express your own desire to do something and ask about others’.
今日はカレーを食べたいです。
kyou wa karee o tabetai desu.
What do you think this sentence means?
I want to eat curry today.
Say what you want to do
Attach ～たい to a verb stem to express your own desire to do an action. You can also ask the listener what they want to do.
日本に行きたいです。
nihon ni ikitai desu.
I want to go to Japan.
Verb stem + たい
Take the ます-stem and add たい. ～たい behaves like an い-adjective, so polite speech often adds です.
食べます → 食べたいです
tabemasu → tabetai desu
eat → want to eat
行きます → 行きたいです
ikimasu → ikitai desu
go → want to go
見ます → 見たいです
mimasu → mitai desu
see → want to see
Ask the listener about their desire
A question with ～たいですか can ask what the listener wants to do. Avoid using ～たい as a simple factual claim about another person’s inner feelings unless the context supports it.
何を食べたいですか。
nani o tabetai desu ka.
What do you want to eat?
どこに行きたいですか。
doko ni ikitai desu ka.
Where do you want to go?
週末、何をしたいですか。
shuumatsu, nani o shitai desu ka.
What do you want to do this weekend?
新しい靴を買いたいです。
atarashii kutsu o kaitai desu.
I want to buy new shoes.
日曜日に公園で散歩したいです。
nichiyoubi ni kouen de sanpo shitai desu.
I want to take a walk in the park on Sunday.
家族ともっと話したいです。
kazoku to motto hanashitai desu.
I want to talk more with my family.
10 more examples in the grammar path — free for a limited time.