This means "I want to do something." You use it to talk about your own wishes.
Verb [stem] + たいPrimary
This means "I want to do something." You use it to talk about your own wishes.
夏休みは沖縄の海で泳ぎたい。
I want to swim in the sea in Okinawa during summer vacation.
疲れているから、今日は何もしたくないです。
I'm tired, so I don't want to do anything today.
子供のころ、漫画家になりたかったけど、諦めた。
When I was a child, I wanted to become a manga artist, but I gave up.
今一番食べたいものは、熱々のラーメンです。
The thing I want to eat most right now is piping hot ramen.
新しいゲームが買いたくて、アルバイトを始めた。
I wanted to buy a new game, so I started a part-time job.
You can use が or を with 〜たい. Both are fine. が is often used because 〜たい acts like an adjective. But を is also very common. For example, 'I want to drink water' can be '水が飲みたい' or '水を飲みたい'. They both mean the same thing.
This is different from saying what someone else wants. For others, you use "~tagaru" (for actions) or "~ga hoshii" (for things). It's also different from saying you want someone else to do something. For that, you use "~te hoshii."
Don't use this when you talk about what someone else wants. For example, don't say 'He wants to eat sushi.'
Often confused with(1)
Contrasts with(3)
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