{"id":107173,"date":"2024-02-12T14:16:07","date_gmt":"2024-02-12T19:16:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/i-want-in-japanese\/"},"modified":"2025-02-26T07:56:00","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T12:56:00","slug":"i-want-in-japanese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/japanese\/i-want-in-japanese\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Say “I Want” in Japanese (Explained with Ties)"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s an unremarkable weekday evening and\u00a0a salaryman<\/a> is collapsed in the aisle of a dilapidated discount department store. He is, for some reason, sobbing.<\/p>\n

A concerned customer service representative approaches him to ask what’s wrong, to which he replies: “I want to buy a \u30cd\u30af\u30bf\u30a4 (nekutai<\/b>)<\/em> \u2014 necktie!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

“How strange, it seems that all of our ties are located in the Japanese learning resources aisle. What in the world could a necktie have to do with learning Japanese?” The staff member replies.<\/p>\n

It turns out a tie\u2014or rather a -tai<\/em>\u2014is essential for saying “I want” in Japanese.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read on to learn all about expressing wants and desires in Japanese in terms of the best mnemonic device: the humble necktie.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Expressing Desires in Japanese<\/h2>\n

One of the most common bits of advice given to people learning a new language is to think in their target language, not to translate into it. The problem with trying to translate directly is that what sounds natural in our native language doesn’t necessarily sound the same in our target language.<\/strong> This leads to output that’s often unnatural, even if it’s understandable.<\/p>\n

It might be linguistically possible to translate anything into another language but for whatever reason\u2014be it cultural differences, the simplicity of certain grammar points over others or even pop culture trends\u2014the translation often gets a little blurred.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In this post, I’m going to discuss types of desire that are grammatically distinguished in Japanese but not in English.<\/strong>\u00a0Even though all are encompassed by a mere two forms of the verb “to want” in English, trying to simply translate this “to want” into Japanese will probably yield incorrect results in three out of four situations.<\/p>\n

To deal with this specific problem, and also to shift away from translating in your head, I’d like you to follow a two-step process.<\/p>\n

1. Don’t think about the words you’re trying to translate but rather about the idea<\/strong> you want to express.<\/p>\n

2. Learn how the Japanese language conveys this idea.<\/p>\n

In other words, don’t think about how to say “I want a (something)” in Japanese. Instead, think about expressing “I want (something)”<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>as opposed to “I want (to do something).”<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. Using \uff5e\u6b32\u3057\u3044 (hoshii)<\/em> with nouns: I want a necktie, not a bow tie<\/h2>\n

We’ll look at \uff5e\u6b32\u3057\u3044 first because, although it’s backwards compared to English, the construction is very straightforward to make. Adding \uff5e\u6b32\u3057\u3044 to a noun expresses your desire for that noun.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Note:<\/strong> When expressing desires with hoshii<\/em>, the kanji spelling (\u6b32\u3057\u3044) is more commonly used with nouns, while the hiragana spelling (\u307b\u3057\u3044) is used with verbs, such as when wanting to do something (as you’ll discover below in the third part of the post).<\/p>\n

There are three steps:<\/p>\n

1. Pick a noun. Any noun.<\/p>\n

2. Add the particle \u304c (ga)<\/em>. If you’re a little more advanced, you might sometimes use the particle \u306f<\/a> (wa)<\/em> or even \u306e<\/a> (no)<\/em>.<\/p>\n

3. Add \u6b32\u3057\u3044 (hoshii <\/em>[informal])<\/em> or \u6b32\u3057\u3044\u3067\u3059 (hoshii desu <\/em>[formal])<\/em> after the particle.<\/p>\n

\u6b32\u3057\u3044 is an \u3044 (i)<\/em>-adjective<\/a> and some of its basic conjugations look like this:<\/p>\n

Present positive:<\/strong> \u6b32\u3057\u3044 (hoshii)<\/em> \u2014 want<\/p>\n

Present negative:<\/strong> \u6b32\u3057\u304f\u306a\u3044 (hoshikunai)<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>\u2014 don’t want<\/p>\n

Past positive:<\/strong> \u6b32\u3057\u304b\u3063\u305f (hoshikatta)<\/em> \u2014 wanted<\/p>\n

Past negative:<\/strong> \u6b32\u3057\u304f\u306a\u304b\u3063\u305f (hoshikunakatta)<\/em> \u2014 didn’t want<\/p>\n

So, let’s go back to our story and rewind a little bit. Say that the staff member hadn’t clearly heard the salaryman because he was sobbing too loudly. She might say:<\/p>\n

\u3059\u307f\u307e\u305b\u3093\u3002\u4f55\u304c\u6b32\u3057\u3044<\/strong>\u3067\u3059\u304b\uff1f
\n(Sumimasen. Nani ga hoshii desu ka?)<\/em>
\nExcuse me. What is it that you want?<\/p>\n

Prompted, the man repeats that he wants a necktie.<\/p>\n

\u30cd\u30af\u30bf\u30a4\u2026\u30cd\u30af\u30bf\u30a4\u304c\u6b32\u3057\u3044<\/strong>\u3067\u3059\u3002
\n(Nekutai… nekutai ga hoshii desu.)<\/em>
\nA necktie… I want a necktie.<\/p>\n

The staff member nods and says, “Right this way, please.” She leads him down a few aisles and, outstretching her hand toward a rack of ties, uses an inversion of the structure we just learned.<\/p>\n

\u6b32\u3057\u3044<\/strong>\u3082\u306e\u304c\u3042\u308a\u307e\u3059\u304b\uff1f
\n(Hoshii mono ga arimasu ka?)<\/em>
\nIs there something that you want?<\/p>\n

(In this case, saying \u6b32\u3057\u3044\u3082\u306e (hoshii mono)<\/em> is a bit like saying “the thing that’s desired.”)<\/p>\n

The salaryman blinks, incredulously, as he follows the shopkeeper’s gaze to realize that he’s looking at a shelf full of bow ties. A little frustrated, he responds:<\/p>\n

\u30dc\u30a6\u30bf\u30a4\u3058\u3083\u306a\u304f\u3066\u3001\u30cd\u30af\u30bf\u30a4\u304c\u6b32\u3057\u3044<\/strong>\u3067\u3059\uff01
\n(Boutai janakute, nekutai ga hoshii desu!)<\/em>
\nI want a necktie, not a bow tie!<\/p>\n

If you want to specifically say that you\u00a0don’t\u00a0<\/em>want something, \u306f is often used instead of \u304c. Our salaryman could just as well have said:<\/p>\n

\u3042\u3063\u3001\u3059\u307f\u307e\u305b\u3093\u3002\u30dc\u30a6\u30bf\u30a4\u306f\u6b32\u3057\u304f\u306a\u3044<\/strong>\u3067\u3059\u3002\u30cd\u30af\u30bf\u30a4\u304c\u6b32\u3057\u3044<\/strong>\u3067\u3059\u3002
\n(Aa, sumimasen. Boutai wa hoshikunai desu. Nekutai ga hoshii desu.)<\/em>
\nAhh, sorry. I don’t want a bow tie. I want a necktie.<\/p>\n

2. Using \uff5e\u305f\u3044 (tai)<\/em> with verbs: I want to buy this necktie<\/h2>\n

If you don’t want a thing, but rather want to do something,<\/strong> you should use the \uff5e\u305f\u3044 form with a verb.<\/p>\n

This form shows that you want to do the action that the\u00a0\uff5e\u305f\u3044 is attached to.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This form can also be made in three steps.<\/p>\n

1. Pick a verb. Any verb.<\/p>\n

2. Conjugate that verb to its \uff5e\u307e\u3059 (masu)<\/em> form<\/a>.<\/p>\n

3. Replace \uff5e\u307e\u3059 with \uff5e\u305f\u3044.<\/p>\n

<\/lite-youtube><\/p>\n

To practice forming this verb form,\u00a0see uTexas’s website<\/a>. (Note that you’ll need to install\u00a0a Japanese keyboard<\/a> to use this website).<\/p>\n

Here are some examples of the form in use:<\/p>\n

\u898b\u308b (miru)<\/em> \u2014 to see: \u898b\u308b \u2192 \u898b\u307e\u3059 (mimasu)<\/em> \u2192 \u898b\u305f\u3044 (mitai)<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 I want to see\/look…<\/p>\n

\u58f2\u308b (uru)<\/em> \u2014 to sell: \u58f2\u308b \u2192 \u58f2\u308a\u307e\u3059 (urimasu)<\/em> \u2192 \u58f2\u308a\u305f\u3044 (uritai)<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 I want to sell…<\/p>\n

\u8cb7\u3046 (kau)<\/em> \u2014 to buy: \u8cb7\u3046 \u2192 \u8cb7\u3044\u307e\u3059 (kaimasu)<\/em> \u2192 \u8cb7\u3044\u305f\u3044 (kaitai)<\/em> \u2014 I want to buy…<\/p>\n

It might be a little bit strange to think about, but the \uff5e\u305f\u3044 form of verbs is unique because it conjugates in the same way as \u3044-adjectives do.<\/strong> That’s good for us, though, because it means that we can use the exact same conjugations for \uff5e\u305f\u3044 and \uff5e\u307b\u3057\u3044!<\/p>\n

Here’s the verb \u8cb7\u3046 (kau)<\/em>, for example.<\/p>\n

Present positive:<\/strong> \u8cb7\u3044\u305f\u3044 (kaitai)<\/em> \u2015 I want to buy (something).<\/p>\n

Present negative:<\/strong> \u8cb7\u3044\u305f\u304f\u306a\u3044 (kaitakunai)<\/em> \u2015 I don’t want to buy (something).<\/p>\n

Past positive:<\/strong> \u8cb7\u3044\u305f\u304b\u3063\u305f (kaitakatta)<\/em> \u2015 I wanted to buy (something).<\/p>\n

Past negative:<\/strong> \u8cb7\u3044\u305f\u304f\u306a\u304b\u3063\u305f (kaitakunakatta)<\/em> \u2015 I didn’t want to buy (something).<\/p>\n

To make these polite, simply add \u3067\u3059 (desu)<\/em> at the end of each of the above examples.<\/p>\n

Let’s go back to our story. The two are now standing in front of a rack of neckties. Observe how the staff member asks our salaryman for a bit more information.<\/p>\n

\u3067\u306f\u3001\u3069\u3093\u306a\u30cd\u30af\u30bf\u30a4\u3092\u8cb7\u3044\u305f\u3044<\/strong>\u3067\u3059\u304b\uff1f
\n(Deha, donna nekutai o kaitai desu ka?)<\/em>
\nSo, what sort of necktie do you want to buy?<\/p>\n

(Note:<\/strong> While we normally use \uff5e\u305f\u304c\u308b (tagaru)<\/em> form to talk about the desires of others, as we’ll learn in section four, the normal \uff5e\u305f\u3044 form is still used if you’re asking someone a question.)<\/p>\n

The salaryman looks at the selection of ties and, a bit disappointed, uses an inversion of this structure, with the word \u3082\u306e (mono)<\/em> \u2014 “thing.”<\/p>\n

\u3046\u30fc\u3093\u3001\u8a66\u7740\u3057\u305f\u3044\u3082\u306e<\/strong>\u304c\u4e00\u3064\u3082\u306a\u3044\u306a\u3002
\n(Uun, shichaku shitai mono ga hitotsu mo nai na.)<\/em>
\nHmm, I don’t even see one that I want to try on.<\/p>\n

The staff member, shocked at this very blunt retort, responds:<\/p>\n

\u3042\u306e\u3001\u5148\u7a0b\u306e\u30dc\u30a6\u30bf\u30a4\u3092\u3082\u3046\u4e00\u5ea6\u898b\u305f\u304f\u306a\u3044<\/strong>\u3067\u3059\u304b\uff1f
\n(Ano, sakihodo no boutai o m\u014dichido mitakunai desu ka?)<\/em>
\nUhh, don’t you want to look at those bow ties from earlier one more time?<\/p>\n

Unenthusiastically, he grabs a tie at random and begins walking toward the cash register.<\/p>\n

\u3058\u3083\u3042\u3001\u3053\u308c\u306b\u3057\u307e\u3059\u3002
\n(Jaa, kore ni shimasu.)<\/em>
\nI’ll take this one, then.<\/p>\n

3. Using \uff5e\u3066\u307b\u3057\u3044 (te hoshii)<\/em> with verbs: I want you to sell me this necktie<\/h2>\n

Japanese simply tacks that \uff5e\u307b\u3057\u3044 from earlier onto the end of a \u3066 (te)<\/em> form verb to convey the idea of “wanting someone to do something for you.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is great because it means that we don’t have to complicate the sentence structure<\/a> by adding a conjunction like “for” and we can also continue using the same conjugations we learned earlier. Again, there are only three steps.<\/p>\n

1. Pick a verb. Any verb.<\/p>\n

2. Conjugate that verb to its\u00a0\u3066 form<\/a>.<\/p>\n

3. Add \uff5e\u307b\u3057\u3044 directly onto the end of the verb’s\u00a0\u3066 form.<\/p>\n

<\/lite-youtube><\/p>\n

You can check your understanding of this\u00a0over at JLPTsensei<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here are some examples:<\/p>\n

\u58f2\u308b (uru)<\/em> \u2014 to sell: \u58f2\u308b \u2192 \u58f2\u3063\u3066 (utte)<\/em> \u2192 \u58f2\u3063\u3066\u307b\u3057\u3044 (utte hoshii)<\/em> \u2014 I want you to sell…<\/p>\n

\u98f2\u3080 (nomu)<\/em> \u2014 to drink: \u98f2\u3080 \u2192 \u98f2\u3093\u3067 (nonde)<\/em> \u2192 \u98f2\u3093\u3067\u307b\u3057\u3044\u00a0<\/strong>(nonde hoshii)<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 I want you to drink…<\/p>\n

\u8f9e\u3081\u308b (yameru)<\/em> \u2014 to quit\/resign: \u8f9e\u3081\u308b \u2192 \u8f9e\u3081\u3066 (yamete)<\/em> \u2192 \u8f9e\u3081\u3066\u307b\u3057\u3044 (yamete hoshii)<\/em>\u00a0\u2014\u00a0<\/strong>I want you to quit…<\/p>\n

Back at the store, the disappointed salaryman approaches a cashier’s booth and, looking up, notices that the cashier is wearing an incredible tie. He exclaims:<\/p>\n

\u3046\u308f\uff01\u305d\u306e\u30cd\u30af\u30bf\u30a4\u3001\u58f2\u3063\u3066\u307b\u3057\u3044<\/strong>\u3067\u3059\uff01\u58f2\u3063\u3066\u304f\u3060\u3055\u3044\uff01
\n(Uwa! Sono nekutai, utte hoshii desu! Utte kudasai!)<\/em>
\nHoly smokes! I want you to sell me that necktie! Please sell it to me!<\/p>\n

You might notice that the expressions “I want you to (do something)” and “please (do something)” sound quite similar. Saying “please” might be a little more direct, but aside from that, these forms are mostly interchangeable.<\/p>\n

Thus, having been asked to sell the tie that’s part of his uniform, the cashier might respond:<\/p>\n

\u6012\u3089\u306a\u3044\u3067\u805e\u3044\u3066\u307b\u3057\u3044<\/strong>\u306e\u3067\u3059\u304c\u3001\u3053\u306e\u30cd\u30af\u30bf\u30a4\u306f\u975e\u58f2\u54c1\u3067\u3059\u3002
\n(Okoranaide kiite hoshii no desu ga, kono nekutai wa hibaihin desu.)<\/em>
\nPlease listen and don’t be angry but this necktie isn’t for sale.<\/p>\n

The salaryman, desperate, leaps over the table and tries to tear the tie from the cashier’s neck. They brawl for a few minutes before security arrives to take care of the situation. Panting and exasperated, the cashier might rudely exclaim:<\/p>\n

\u3053\u306e\u5e97\u306b\u4e8c\u5ea6\u3068\u6765\u3066\u307b\u3057\u304f\u306a\u3044<\/strong>\u3067\u3059\uff01
\n(Kono mise ni nidoto kite hoshikunai desu!)<\/em>
\nI don’t want you to ever return to this store!<\/p>\n

4. \uff5e\u305f\u304c\u308b (tagaru)<\/em> with verbs: He wanted to kill me!<\/h2>\n

Unfortunately, it’s a little more difficult to talk about what\u00a0other people want to do in Japanese. This is because Japanese marks words to show evidentiality<\/a>\u00a0or explain how a given piece of information was acquired. This normally requires grammar that’s more difficult than the \uff5e\u305f\u3044 form itself and there are a few ways to go about it, but to avoid complicating this post too much, I’ll only talk about one of them.<\/p>\n

To express that “someone else wants to do something”<\/strong> you can:<\/p>\n

1. Add a judgment<\/a>\u00a0to the end of a \uff5e\u305f\u3044 form verb.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0Replace the \uff5e\u305f\u3044 in a\u00a0\uff5e\u305f\u3044 form verb\u00a0with \uff5e\u305f\u304c\u308b<\/a>.<\/p>\n

3. Add \uff5e\u3067\u3059\u304b (desu ka<\/em>) to the end of a \uff5e\u305f\u3044 form verb to ask if someone else wants to do something.<\/p>\n

If you’re curious, \uff5e\u305f\u304c\u308b is actually the normal \uff5e\u305f\u3044 form used with the suffix \uff5e\u304c\u308b (garu<\/em>). The suffix \uff5e\u304c\u308b conveys the meaning of “seeming” or “showing signs of,” so \uff5e\u305f\u304c\u308b actually means something like “showing signs of wanting to do something.”<\/p>\n

That aside, it’s okay to think of this form as meaning “[someone else] wants to do something.” For example:<\/p>\n

\u6bba\u3059 (korosu)<\/em> \u2014 to kill: \u6bba\u3059 \u2192 \u6bba\u3057\u307e\u3059 (koroshimasu)<\/em> \u2192 \u6bba\u3057\u305f\u3044 (koroshitai)<\/em> \u2192 \u6bba\u3057\u305f\u304c\u308b (koroshitagaru)<\/em> \u2014 (He) wants to kill…<\/p>\n

\uff5e\u305f\u304c\u308b conjugates in the same way as type one (\u3046 [u]) verbs<\/a> like \u6012\u308b (okoru)<\/em> \u2014 to be angry or \u8d70\u308b (hashiru)<\/em> \u2014 to run. It’s often used in the \u3066\u3044\u308b (teiru)<\/em> form.<\/p>\n

Here are some basic formal conjugations of this:<\/p>\n

Present positive: <\/strong>\u6bba\u3057\u305f\u304c\u3063\u3066\u3044\u307e\u3059 (koroshitagatteimasu)<\/em> \u2015 (He) wants to kill…<\/p>\n

Present negative: <\/strong>\u6bba\u3057\u305f\u304c\u3063\u3066\u3044\u307e\u305b\u3093 (koroshitagatteimasen)<\/em> \u2015 (He) doesn’t want to kill…<\/p>\n

Past positive: <\/strong>\u6bba\u3057\u305f\u304c\u3063\u3066\u3044\u307e\u3057\u305f (koroshitagatteimashita)<\/em> \u2015 (He) wanted to kill…<\/p>\n

Past negative:<\/strong> \u6bba\u3057\u305f\u304c\u3063\u3066\u3044\u307e\u305b\u3093\u3067\u3057\u305f (koroshitagatteimasen deshita)<\/em> \u2015 (He) didn’t want to kill…<\/p>\n

And here are the casual versions (the definitions are the same; only the level of formality changes here):<\/p>\n

Present positive:<\/strong> \u6bba\u3057\u305f\u304c\u3063\u3066\u3044\u308b (koroshitagatteiru)<\/em><\/p>\n

Present negative:<\/strong> \u6bba\u3057\u305f\u304c\u3063\u3066\u3044\u306a\u3044 (koroshitagatteinai)<\/em><\/p>\n

Past positive:<\/strong> \u6bba\u3057\u305f\u304c\u3063\u3066\u3044\u305f (koroshitagatteita)<\/em><\/p>\n

Past negative:<\/strong> \u6bba\u3057\u305f\u304c\u3063\u3066\u3044\u306a\u304b\u3063\u305f (koroshitagatteinakatta)<\/em><\/p>\n

Let’s say that the store manager comes out to reprimand the cashier for not giving the customer respect due to his position. After all, the customer is king. Flustered, the cashier responds:<\/p>\n

\u3060\u2026\u3060\u2026\u3060\u3051\u3069\u3001\u304a\u5ba2\u3055\u3093\u306f\u79c1\u3092\u6bba\u3057\u305f\u304c\u3063\u3066\u3044\u307e\u3057\u305f\uff01<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>(Da… da… dakedo, okyaku san wa watashi o koroshitagatteimashita!)<\/em>
\nB..bu..but, the customer wanted to kill me!<\/p>\n

To which the manager responds,<\/p>\n

\u305d\u3093\u306a\u3053\u3068\u304c\u3042\u308b\u8a33\u306a\u3044\u3067\u3057\u3087\u3046\u3002\u304a\u5ba2\u3055\u3093\u306f\u3001\u305f\u3060\u3042\u306a\u305f\u306e\u30cd\u30af\u30bf\u30a4\u3092\u89e6\u308a\u305f\u304c\u3063\u3066<\/strong>\u3044\u305f\u3060\u3051\u3067\u3057\u305f\u3088\u3002
\n(Sonna koto ga aru wake nai deshou. Okyaku san wa, tada anata no nekutai o sawaritagatteita dake deshita yo.)<\/em>
\nThat’s crazy. All he wanted was to touch your tie!<\/p>\n

After such a response, it might be safe to say that the cashier is \u4ed5\u4e8b\u3092\u8f9e\u3081\u305f\u304c\u3063\u3066\u3044\u307e\u3059 (shigoto o yametagatteimasu)<\/em> \u2014 wanting to quit his job!<\/p>\n

As you can see with the example of buying a necktie shown in this post, seeing the language in action can help you understand how it’s used by native speakers. For example, you could try using the FluentU program<\/a> to watch an array of Japanese media, like news clips and inspiring videos.

FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n

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You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app<\/a> or Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n

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