Ways to Express Desire – Want – Tai and Hoshii

Have you ever wondered how to say you want something, or want to do something in Japanese? Or would you even like to say that you don't want to do something? Learning this is very helpful in basic conversation. For this we will learn the form “tai” and “hoshii”.

  • The form "tai" is used to indicate that you want to do something. (play / joke / kill / sing...)
  • The hoshii form is used to indicate that you want something. (object / thing / person / animal)

“Tai” form たい

When you intend to say that you want to do some action, that is a verb, we use the form "tai" たい. The suffix tai works the same as "masu" ます. That is, if you want something, you must end the verb with "tai" instead of "masu".

Example: I want to eat / tabletai desu 食べたいです

Just like the suffix "masu" the "-tai" has its grammatical forms.

present/future Past
Affirmative tai desu I'm tired.
Negative It's not necessary. It wasn't needed

See a wish list with the form "-tai" that you can learn:

 Verb verb - kanji tai - romaji tai - kanji Meaning
kau 買 う kaitai 買 い た い I want to buy
matsu 待 つ machitai 待 ち た い I want to wait
noru 乗 る noritai 乗 り た い I want to ride
name 飲 む name 飲 み た い I want to drink
shinu 死 ぬ shintai 死 に た い I wanna die
asobu 遊 ぶ asobitai 遊 び た い I want play
iku 行 く I want to go 行 き た い I want to go
swim 泳 ぐ oyogitai 泳 ぎ た い I want to swim
speak 話 す hanashitai 話 し た い I want to talk
miru 見 る mitai 見 た い I want to see
do す る shitai し た い I want to do
kuru く る kitai き た い I want to come

Learning this you can start creating sentences like this:

  • 私は 車を 買いたいです。
  • Watashi wa kuruma o kaitai desu;
  • I want to buy a car
  • 日本へ 行きたいです。
  • I want to go to Japan;
  • I want to go to Japan

Form “hoshii” ほしい / 欲しい

When it comes to nouns, we use the term ほしい to say that we want something. Pay attention to how the sentence is organized:

(私は) noun がほしいです
(watashi wa) Noun ga hoshii desu

The shape hoshii it's quite simple. Just put in whatever substantivity you want, to say that you want something. The shape hoshii can only be used for things and objects. It should not be used to indicate that you want to do an action, for that there is a "tai" form.

Just like the "-tai" form the hoshii has its grammatical forms:

Format Kanji Furigana
Rōmaji
Simple form 欲 し い ほ し い hoshii
Past 欲 し か っ た ほ し か っ た hoshikatta
Denial 欲 し く な い ほ し く な い hoshikunai
Past Denial 欲 し く な か っ た ほ し く な か っ た hoshikunakatta
-sa form 欲 し さ ほ し さ hoshisa
form -am 欲 し そ う ほ し そ う hoshisou

Examples: 

Kanji 私 は 沢 山 お 金 が 欲 し い で す.
Furigana わ た し は た く さ ん お か ね が ほ し い で す.
Rōmaji watashi wa takusan okane ga hoshii desu
Portuguese  I want to make a lot of money.
  • 田中さんは犬ほしいです;
  • Tanaka san wa inu ga hoshii desu
  • Mr. Tanaka wants a dog;
  • あなたは何ほしいですか;
  • anata wa nani ga hoshii desu ka
  • What you want?
  • Today it is raining. I want an umbrella.
  • kyou wa ame ga futte imasu. kasa ga hoshii desu
  • 今日は雨が降っています. 傘ほしいです;
  • 私は恋人.ほしいです
  • watashi wa koibito ga hoshii desu
  • I want a boyfriend / girlfriend.
  • 私は日本人の友達 ほしいです
  • watashi wa nihonjin no tomodachi ga hoshii desu
  • I want a Japanese friend;
  • 私はとても忙しいから、時間 ほしいです。
  • watashi wa totemo isogashii kara, jikan ga hoshii desu
  • I'm so busy, I need time.
  • 子供の時人形 ほしかったですが、今はほしくないです。
  • kodomo no toki ningyou ga hoshikatta desu ga, ima wa hoshikunai desu;
  • I wanted a doll when I was a child, not now.
  • 五年前にカメラ ほしくなかったですが、今はほしいです。
  • gonen mae ni kamera ga hoshikunakatta desu ga, ima wa hoshii desu
  • I didn't want a camera from 5 years ago, I want a current one.

Video

Below is a video that can help with the tai form:

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