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.
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)
Practice the ~tai form
Drill the affirmative, negative, and past forms of ~tai until they become second nature.
Start Practice โ