Which one should you use?
The forms vary based on the level of politeness and the specific intent of the speaker. The default form 行きたい？ specifically asks about the listener's desire. 行きたいですか？ is the polite version of this specific question. If you are instead inviting someone to join you rather than just asking about their desire, you might use the casual 行かない？ or the even more casual 行く？ For a formal invitation, you can use 行きませんか？, which translates to "Won't you go?"
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The default form 行きたい？ is informal and should only be used with friends, family or people of lower social status. For a polite tone suitable for strangers or superiors, use 行きたいですか？ To invite someone formally, use 行きませんか？ The forms 行かない？ and 行く？ are both informal, with 行く？ being the most casual.
How does it change in a sentence?
To make the desire-based question 行きたい？ polite, you can add ですか to the end to create 行きたいですか？ This makes the expression suitable for addressing strangers or superiors.
How do you pronounce it?
ikitai?
Did you know?
- The verb 行く (to go) can be pronounced as both 'iku' and 'yuku'. While 'iku' is the standard for 行きたい？, 'yuku' is often used in songs and poetry to evoke a sense of longing or destiny.
- When using 行きたい to express your own desire, you cannot use it to describe the desires of a third person, such as 'he wants to go'. For others, Japanese requires different grammatical structures.
- In Japanese, asking 'do you want to go?' using 行きたい？ can actually be considered rude or intrusive. This is because it directly probes a person's inner feelings, which is often avoided in polite conversation.
Examples in context
- 海に行きたい？Umi ni ikitai?Do you want to go to the sea?
- 明日、映画館に行きたい？Ashita, eigakan ni ikitai?Do you want to go to the movie theater tomorrow?
- どこかに行きたい？Doko ka ni ikitai?Do you want to go somewhere?
Example conversation
Hiyori and Daito are talking about their weekend plans.
- 大翔 Hiroto今週末、動物園に行きたい？Konshūmatsu, dōbutsuen ni ikitai?Do you want to go to the zoo this weekend?
- 陽葵 Himariうん、行きたい！Un, ikitai!Yes, I want to go!
- 大翔 Hirotoじゃあ、土曜日にしようか。Jā, doyōbi ni shiyō ka.Then, let's make it Saturday.
- 陽葵 Himariいいよ。楽しみだね。Ii yo. Tanoshimi da ne.Sounds good. I'm looking forward to it.
