LEARN + JAPANESE / Note 64 JLPT N5

I Want To (たい)

たい attaches to a verb’s stem (the part right before ます) and turns it into “want to.” Once attached, たい behaves exactly like an い-adjective, not like the verb it came from.

In Real Life
たい conjugates like an い-adjective from here on: 食べたい becomes 食べたくない (don’t want to), 食べたかった (wanted to), 食べたくなかった (didn’t want to). None of that borrows from 食べる’s own conjugation pattern, たい runs on its own rules once it’s attached.
In Real Life
たい is only for your own wants, stated directly, the same restriction Korean’s 고 싶다 has. Talking about someone else’s want needs a different shape entirely, たがっている, not just swapping the subject into a たい sentence.

Vocabulary

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