会いたい
aitai
In Japanese, the phrase for "I miss you" is 会いたい (aitai).
Because Japanese lacks a direct equivalent for the emotional state of "missing" someone, the standard way to express that you miss someone's presence is to say 会いたい, which translates to wanting to see or meet them. To convey a sense of deep longing, you can repeat the form as Aitakute aitakute (I want to see you, I want to see you).
Meaning: I miss you (phrase)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is literally "want to meet".
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The phrase 会いたい is the standard form. To make it polite and suitable for someone you are not on intimate terms with, you can use 会いたいです.
How does it change in a sentence?
To express the past tense "I missed you" or "I wanted to see you", change the ending to the past tense form 会いたかった.
How do you pronounce it?
aitai
What mistakes should you avoid?
However, 寂しい describes your own state of loneliness rather than the desire to see the other person. Use 会いたい instead to focus on the desire to see them.
Did you know?
- In romantic Japanese poetry and songs, the concept of missing someone is often expressed through descriptions of the landscape or the weather rather than using 会いたい directly.
- Because Japanese is a high-context language, the subject 'I' and the object 'you' are almost always omitted in 会いたい, leaving the participants to infer who misses whom from the situation.
- The verb 会う in 会いたい is specifically used for meeting people, while different verbs are used for 'seeing' objects or scenery, meaning you cannot use this specific form for missing a place.
Examples in context
- 会いたいよ！I miss you!This sentence is useful for seeing how to add emotive emphasis to the form 会いたい.Tatoeba #13182085 by atitarev, translation #6055899 by sergiomelo
- すごく会いたいです。Sugoku aitai desu.I miss you so much.
- 早く会いたいな。Hayaku aitai na.I want to see you soon.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
A phone call between a long-distance couple.
- 陽太 Yota結衣、すごく会いたいよ。Yui, sugoku aitai yo.Yui, I miss you so much.
- 結衣 Yui私も、陽太に会いたい。Watashi mo, Yota ni aitai.I miss you too, Yota.
- 陽太 Yota今週末に会えるかな？Konshūmatsu ni aeru kana?Do you think we can meet this weekend?
- 結衣 Yuiうん、絶対に会おうね。Un, zettai ni aō ne.Yes, let's definitely see each other.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
