If you\u2019re interested in learning Japanese, one of the first things you\u2019ll need to learn is how to express what you want to do. Luckily, Japanese has a simple and useful construction for expressing desires: ~\u305f\u3044\u3067\u3059(~tai desu).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This form of saying “I want” is used for verbs.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n ~\u305f\u3044\u3067\u3059 is a Japanese verb construction that expresses a desire to do something. It\u2019s made up of the stem of the verb (the part before the \u307e\u3059 ending) plus \u305f\u3044, which means \u201cwant to do.\u201d To make it more polite, add \u3067\u3059 at the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, if you want to say \u201cI want to eat sushi,\u201d the verb for \u201ceat\u201d is \u98df\u3079\u308b (taberu). To use ~\u305f\u3044\u3067\u3059, you would take the stem of taberu (\u98df\u3079) and add \u305f\u3044 to make \u98df\u3079\u305f\u3044 (tabetai). Then, you would add \u3067\u3059 at the end to make it polite: \u98df\u3079\u305f\u3044\u3067\u3059 (tabetai desu).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Using ~\u305f\u3044\u3067\u3059 in Japanese<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n To use ~\u305f\u3044\u3067\u3059, follow these steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s an example using the verb \u904a\u3076 (asobu) which means \u201cto play.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Plain form: \u904a\u3076 (asobu) Stem: \u904a\u3073 (asobi) Add \u305f\u3044: \u904a\u3073\u305f\u3044 (asobitai) Add \u3067\u3059: \u904a\u3073\u305f\u3044\u3067\u3059 (asobitai desu)<\/p>\n\n\n\n And here\u2019s another example using the verb \u884c\u304f (iku) which means \u201cto go.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Plain form: \u884c\u304f (iku) Stem: \u884c\u304d (iki) Add \u305f\u3044: \u884c\u304d\u305f\u3044 (ikitai) Add \u3067\u3059: \u884c\u304d\u305f\u3044\u3067\u3059 (ikitai desu)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Using ~\u305f\u3044\u3067\u3059 to make requests<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to expressing desires, you can also use ~\u305f\u3044\u3067\u3059 to make requests. For example, if you want to ask someone if they want to go to a movie with you, you could say:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u6620\u753b\u3092\u898b\u305f\u3044\u3067\u3059\u304b\uff1f(Eiga o mitai desu ka?) Do you want to watch a movie?<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this case, you\u2019re using ~\u305f\u3044\u3067\u3059 to ask if the other person has a desire to watch a movie with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Examples of ~\u305f\u3044\u3067\u3059 in use<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are some examples of how to use ~\u305f\u3044\u3067\u3059 in everyday conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to ~\u305f\u3044\u3067\u3059, another common way to express desires in Japanese is by using \u6b32\u3057\u3044 (hoshii), which means \u201cto want\u201d or \u201cto desire.\u201d While ~\u305f\u3044\u3067\u3059 expresses a desire to do something (aka a verb), \u6b32\u3057\u3044 expresses a desire to have something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Using hoshii to say “I want”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n To use hoshii, follow these steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, if you want to say \u201cI want a book,\u201d the word for book is \u672c (hon). To use hoshii, you would add \u304c after hon to make \u672c\u304c (hon ga), and then add \u6b32\u3057\u3044 at the end to make \u672c\u304c\u6b32\u3057\u3044 (hon ga hoshii).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s another example using the noun \u30b3\u30fc\u30d2\u30fc (koohii) which means \u201ccoffee.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Noun: \u30b3\u30fc\u30d2\u30fc (koohii) Add \u304c: \u30b3\u30fc\u30d2\u30fc\u304c (koohii ga) Add \u6b32\u3057\u3044: \u30b3\u30fc\u30d2\u30fc\u304c\u6b32\u3057\u3044 (koohii ga hoshii)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Using hoshii to make requests<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Like ~\u305f\u3044\u3067\u3059, you can also use hoshii to make requests. For example, if you want to ask someone if they want something, you could say:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u4f55\u304c\u6b32\u3057\u3044\u3067\u3059\u304b\uff1f(Nani ga hoshii desu ka?) What do you want?<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this case, you\u2019re using hoshii to ask if the other person has a desire for something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Examples of hoshii in use<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are some examples of how to use hoshii in everyday conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Note that hoshii is always used in the present or future tense, as it expresses a current desire or want. If you want to express a past desire, you can use the past or future tense of the verb \u6b32\u3057\u3044 (hoshii) instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The past tense of \u6b32\u3057\u3044 (hoshii) is \u6b32\u3057\u304b\u3063\u305f (hoshikatta). This form is used to express a past desire or want. For example, if you wanted a book yesterday, you could say:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u6628\u65e5\u3001\u672c\u304c\u6b32\u3057\u304b\u3063\u305f\u3067\u3059\u3002(Kinou, hon ga hoshikatta desu.) Yesterday, I wanted a book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Similarly, the negative past tense of hoshii is \u6b32\u3057\u304f\u306a\u304b\u3063\u305f (hoshiku nakatta), which means \u201cdid not want\u201d in the past tense. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u6628\u65e5\u3001\u30b3\u30fc\u30d2\u30fc\u304c\u6b32\u3057\u304f\u306a\u304b\u3063\u305f\u3067\u3059\u3002(Kinou, koohii ga hoshiku nakatta desu.) Yesterday, I did not want coffee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Learning how to express your desires in Japanese is an essential part of becoming proficient in the language. By mastering the construction of ~\u305f\u3044\u3067\u3059 and \u6b32\u3057\u3044, you can easily convey what you want to do or have in any given situation. If you want help from a teacher in using “I want” in Japanese, try our beginner Japanese classes.<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Learn the two most common ways to say “I want” in Japanese with examples.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":12050,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[336],"tags":[203,200,199,67,24],"class_list":["post-12048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-learn-japanese","tag-benkyou","tag-how-to-say","tag-i-want","tag-japanese","tag-learn-japanese"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/toranomon-ls.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/toranomon-ls.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/toranomon-ls.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toranomon-ls.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toranomon-ls.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12048"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/toranomon-ls.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12048\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12052,"href":"https:\/\/toranomon-ls.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12048\/revisions\/12052"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toranomon-ls.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/toranomon-ls.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toranomon-ls.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toranomon-ls.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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What is \u6b32\u3057\u3044 (hoshii) and how to use it<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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