How to show preference in Japanese using “hoshii” and -tai form

There are 2 ways to show preference in Japanese. One is the adjective word call “hoshii”　ほしい、欲しい. Or using the -tai たいform.

Some quick examples below.

くるま　が　ほしい - I want a car.

いぬ　が　ほしい - I want a dog.

ねこ　が　ほしい - I want a cat.

When you want to show that you want an object that is a noun, you use the が particle together with the adjective, ほしい. Remember, Japanese sentences are post-position, so the most important objects that are desirable should be place first. Therefore, nouns like cat, dog or car should be express first then follow by adding a が　ほしい after.

So what if you want to express something that you want to do? That means using Japanese verbs to show preference. That is where the -tai たいforms comes in. Look at the examples below.

ケーキ　が　たべたい - I want to eat cake.

コーラ　が　のみたい - I want to drink coke.

To change a verb into a -tai たい form. Use the -masu stem and add the たい after it.

たべます　becomes たべたい　want to eat

のみます becomes のみたい want to drink

ねます becomes ねたい want to sleep

To show preference for certain objects that you want to do, add the が after the noun then follow by the verb with the -tai form behind it.

What if you want someone to do something instead? That topic shall be covered in the coming posts. Look out for it. Till then, enjoy learning Japanese!