How can I say in Japanese “I want to go to Japan”?
Want to phrase
When we want to say that we want to do something,
Verb (masu-form) + たい
Verb (masu-form) + tai
is typically used in Japanese.
So, for example, we can say
わたしは日本へ行きたいです。
Watashi wa nihon e iki tai desu.
I want to go to Japan.
To go:
行く: iku
行きます: iki-masu
行きたい: iki-tai
See also: How to make Masu-form
If the verb needs を (wo) particle
When making たい (tai) phrase, one of the important things that you have keep in your mind is
When creating a たい(tai) phrase, it’s crucial to consider whether the verb requires the を (wo) particle. If the verb does, then you can use either が (ga) or を (wo).
So for example,
I eat ice cream:
アイスを食べます。
Aisu wo tabe masu.
I want to eat ice cream.
アイスを食べたい。
Aisu wo tabe tai.
アイスが食べたい。
Aisu ga tabe tai.
To eat:
- 食べる: taberu
- 食べます: tabe-masu
- 食べたい: tabe-tai
Here, the difference between たい phrase with が and を is that
- Xを: rather neutral
- Xが: focusing on X
So, for example,
I want to eat ice cream.
アイスを食べたい。
Aisu wo tabe tai.
- I simply say that I want to eat ice cream.
アイスが食べたい。
Aisu ga tabe tai.
- I want to eat nothing other than ice cream.
HOWEVER!
With some advanced-level verbs, we can only use を (wo), especially for verbs that result in a significant outcome.
For example,
あいつを殺したい。
Aitsu wo koroshi tai.
I want to kill that person.
To kill:
- 殺す: korosu
- 殺します: koroshi-masu
- 殺したい: koroshi-tai
Here, we can not replace を with が.
The verb 殺す (to kill) gives the object of it a big result, non?
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