アイスクリームを食べたい
aisukurīmu o tabetai
To say "I want to eat ice cream" in Japanese, say アイスクリームを食べたい (aisukurīmu o tabetai).
Use アイスクリームを食べたい to express your own wish to have some ice cream. In casual conversation speakers often shorten the word for ice cream to just aisu.
What does it mean word for word?
アイスクリーム is ice cream, を (o) marks it as the object and 食べたい (tabetai) means want to eat.
Which one should you use?
Aisu kuriimu tabetai na. is a casual version with a wistful tone, and Aisu kuriimu ga tabetai yo! sounds enthusiastic. Watashi wa, aisu kuriimu o tabetai desu. is a formal version that names the speaker.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Adding desu to make アイスクリームを食べたいです makes the sentence polite and suitable for speaking to strangers or superiors.
How does it change in a sentence?
tabetai is the want to form of the verb taberu, to eat, made by replacing the ending ru with tai. In casual speech the particle o is often dropped.
How do you pronounce it?
It is pronounced aisukurīmu o tabetai. The long ī is held for two beats.
Did you know?
- While tabetai means 'want to eat', it is grammatically risky to use this phrase to describe another person's desires. In Japanese, wanting is an internal state that cannot be observed, so speakers use tabetagatte iru instead.
- While the phrase expresses a desire, Japanese social etiquette often makes people avoid using the 'want to' form 〜たい directly toward others, as it can seem overly blunt or presumptive.
- In Japan, you can often find 'soft cream' (softo kuriimu) at many shops, which refers to the specific soft-serve texture rather than the standard hard-scoop ice cream.
Examples in context
- アイスクリームを食べたい。aisukuriimu o tabetai.I want to eat ice cream.
- 今はアイスクリームを食べたい気分です。ima wa aisukuriimu o tabetai kibun desu.I am in the mood to eat ice cream right now.
Example conversation
Misaki and Ren are walking through a shopping mall in the afternoon.
- 美咲 Misaki蓮くん、私、アイスクリームを食べたい！Ren-kun, watashi, aisukuriimu o tabetai!Ren, I want to eat ice cream!
- 蓮 Renいいよ、あそこに店があるね。Ii yo, asoko ni mise ga aru ne.Sure, there is a shop over there.
- 美咲 Misakiやった！チョコ味が食べたいな。Yatta! Choko aji ga tabetai na.Yay! I want to eat the chocolate flavor.
- 蓮 Renじゃあ、あそこへ行こう。Jaa, asoko e ikou.Then, let's go over there.
