会いたかった
aitakatta
In Japanese, the phrase for "I missed you" is 会いたかった (aitakatta).
The phrase is used to tell someone that you felt their absence and wanted to see them again. While English speakers use "miss" to express a general sense of missing someone's presence, the Japanese phrase specifically focuses on the desire to see or meet that person.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is literally "wanted to meet". It is composed of the verb au (to meet) in its desiderative form aitai (want to meet) and the past tense suffix katta.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The form 会いたかった is informal and should be used with friends, family or romantic partners. To make the phrase polite, suitable for a senior or a teacher, you can add desu to the end to form 会いたかったです.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase is in the past tense, which is the standard way to express "I missed you" to indicate that the feeling of longing occurred during the time you were apart.
How do you pronounce it?
aitakatta
Did you know?
- In romantic contexts, the phrase 会いたい (aitai) is often used as a subtle code for 'I love you' or a request for intimacy without using the more heavy-weight words for love.
- The verb au (会う) specifically means 'to meet' or 'to encounter'. This explains why Japanese lacks a single verb that covers both 'missing a person' and 'missing a train'.
- If a person misses someone who has passed away, they would not use 会いたかった, but instead use phrases referring to 'longing' or 'yearning' since au implies a physical meeting.
Examples in context
- お会いできず、寂しかったです。I couldn't meet you, and I felt lonely.
- お目にかかれず、寂しかったです。I couldn't see you, and I felt lonely.
- ずっと会いたかった。Zutto aitakatta.I've wanted to see you for a long time.
- 本当に会いたかったよ。Hontou ni aitakatta yo.I really missed you.
- また会いたかった。Mata aitakatta.I wanted to see you again.
Example conversation
Two friends reuniting at the airport after a long time.
- 陽葵 Himari蓮くん、会いたかった！Ren-kun, aitakatta!Ren, I missed you!
- 蓮 Ren僕も会いたかったよ、陽葵。Boku mo aitakatta yo, Himari.I missed you too, Himari.
- 陽葵 Himariしばらく会えなくて寂しかったよ。Shibaraku aenakute sabishikatta yo.I was lonely since we couldn't meet for a while.
- 蓮 Renもう大丈夫。やっと会えたね。Mō daijōbu. Yatto aeta ne.It's okay now. We finally met.
