たい means want to (do). Attach it to a verb and you get a wish: 飲む (drink) → 飲みたい (want to drink). 水を飲みたいです means “I want to drink water.”
The form is easy. The part that trips people up is whose wishes you can talk about with it. Japanese treats other people’s feelings as something you can’t see directly, so たい mainly describes your own desires, or asks about the listener’s.
Verb stem + たい behaves exactly like an い-adjective. If you can conjugate 高い, you can conjugate 食べたい.
What does たい mean?
たい expresses the speaker’s desire to do an action. It always attaches to a verb, never to a noun. Wanting a thing uses a different word, ほしい.
Typical translations:
- I want to… — 日本へ行きたいです。 “I want to go to Japan.”
- I’d like to… — 予約したいんですが。 “I’d like to make a reservation.”
- I feel like… — 今日はラーメンが食べたい。 “I feel like ramen today.”
- Do you want to…? — in questions to the listener: 何が食べたいですか。 “What do you want to eat?”
Notice there’s no word for “I.” In statements, たい already implies the speaker is the one who wants.
How to form たい
Take the masu-stem (the verb minus ます) and add たい. The result is an い-adjective, and you conjugate it like one.
- 食べます → 食べたい (want to eat)
- 行きます → 行きたい (want to go)
- 見ます → 見たい (want to see)
- します → したい (want to do), 勉強したい
- 来ます → 来たい (want to come)
Conjugation follows the い-adjective pattern:
- Want to: 食べたい / 食べたいです
- Don’t want to: 食べたくない / 食べたくないです
- Wanted to: 食べたかった / 食べたかったです
- Didn’t want to: 食べたくなかった / 食べたくなかったです
を or が? The object can take either particle: 水を飲みたい and 水が飲みたい are both correct. が puts a little more focus on the thing you crave; を is the safe default, and it’s required when other words come between the object and the verb.
When is たい used?
- Talking about your own wishes and dreams. 将来、先生になりたいです。 (I want to become a teacher someday.)
- Asking friends what they want. 週末、何がしたい？ (What do you want to do this weekend?)
- Stating a need politely at a shop or office, softened with んですが: 両替したいんですが… (I’d like to exchange money…).
- Saying what you wanted to do but didn’t, with the past: 行きたかったです (I wanted to go).
Plain たい is for friends and family; たいです is the polite version. たい itself is neither rude nor formal, but how you use it matters, as the next section shows.
たい example sentences
The last sentence doesn’t use plain たい, because the person wanting is not the speaker. It switches to たがっています. That rule is the heart of the next section.
Nuance of たい
たい is for feelings you can know from the inside. In Japanese you can state your own desires directly, but you can’t flatly declare someone else’s. 彼は行きたいです sounds as if you’ve read his mind. For other people, use:
- たがっている — shows the desire from the outside: 彼は行きたがっています (he seems to want to go / he’s eager to go). You’ll study this in detail at N4.
- たいと言っていました — reports what they said: 彼は行きたいと言っていました.
Asking superiors is tricky. 先生、コーヒーを飲みたいですか sounds like prying into their feelings. To offer or invite, use ませんか: コーヒーを飲みませんか. Save たいですか for friends and classmates.
たい alone can sound demanding in requests. At a counter, 両替したいです is a bit blunt. Adding んですが (両替したいんですが) makes it a gentle opener that invites the clerk to help.
Remember the pronoun rule: statement with たい → the wisher is you. Question with たい → the wisher is the listener. Anyone else → たがっている or たいと言っていました.
たい vs ほしい
Both translate as “want,” so learners mix them. The split is simple: たい wants an action, ほしい wants a thing.
Both share the same limits: they describe the speaker’s feelings, conjugate like い-adjectives, and need care with third persons. See がほしい for the noun side.
Common mistakes with たい
Is たい on the JLPT?
Yes. たい is one of the most frequent JLPT N5 grammar points.
Listening questions often ask “What does the woman want to do next?” The speaker may reject one idea with 〜たくない before stating the real wish with 〜たい, so keep listening to the end.
Practice questions for たい
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来年、京都へ行きたいです。 — I want to go to Kyoto next year.
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明日は働きたくないです。 — I don't want to work tomorrow.
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映画を見たかったです。でも、時間がありませんでした。 — I wanted to see the movie. But I didn't have time.
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新しい靴がほしいです。 — I want new shoes. (A thing, no verb, so ほしい.)
Learning path for たい
Related grammar to review next
- がほしい — the “want” for things, the partner of たい for actions.
- つもり — moves from “want to” to “plan to,” a firmer intention.
- ませんか — the polite way to invite someone, instead of asking what they want.
- たがる — describes a third person’s wishes, which plain たい can’t do.
Learn たい with Hane
Hane drills たい through every form, from たくない to たかった, and pairs it with ほしい so the two never blur. Practice in short daily sessions on Hane.
FAQ about たい
What does たい (tai) mean in Japanese?
たい (tai) means “want to do”. It is JLPT N5 grammar. たい expresses the speaker's desire to do an action. It always attaches to a verb, never to a noun. Wanting a *thing* uses a different word, ほしい.
How do you form たい (tai)?
Take the masu-stem (the verb minus ます) and add たい. The result is an い-adjective, and you conjugate it like one.
What is the difference between たい and ほしい?
Verb stem + たい: want to do something. Noun + がほしい: want something.
What is an example sentence with たい (tai)?
水を飲みたいです。 — I want to drink some water.