行きたい
ikitai
行きたい (ikitai) is the Japanese phrase for "I want to go".
This phrase is used to express a desire to travel to or visit a place. In casual conversation, the subject is often omitted. Therefore, depending on the context, 行きたい can mean "I want to go" or "He/She wants to go".
What does it mean word for word?
The form 行きたい is created by combining the stem of the verb 行く (to go) with the auxiliary adjective -たい (want to).
How does it change in a sentence?
Adding です to 行きたい makes it the polite form 行きたいです.
How do you pronounce it?
ikitai
Did you know?
- Using 行きたい to describe a third party's feelings can be seen as a psychological error in Japanese grammar, as one cannot truly know the internal 'want' of another person.
- The auxiliary part たい actually functions grammatically as an 'i-adjective' rather than a verb, which is why you can attach other adjectives to it to describe the intensity of your desire.
- Japanese has a specific concept called 旅情 (ryojō), which describes the specific feeling of longing to travel that drives someone to say 行きたい.
Examples in context
- 私は行きたい。I want to go.Tatoeba #3335159 by KK_kaku_, translation #1977717 by Spamster
- 街に行きたい。I want to go into town.Tatoeba #3459177 by arnab, translation #2011778 by CK
- 私も行きたい。I want to go, too.Tatoeba #8651354 by bunbuku, translation #5859506 by CK
- 93 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are looking at a travel brochure together.
- 大翔 Hiroto北海道に行きたいな。Hokkaido ni ikitai na.I want to go to Hokkaido.
- 美咲 Misakiいいですね。私も行きたいです。Ii desu ne. Watashi mo ikitai desu.That sounds nice. I want to go too.
- 大翔 Hiroto冬に雪を見に行こうよ。Fuyu ni yuki o mi ni ikou yo.Let's go see the snow in winter.
- 美咲 Misaki賛成！計画を立てましょう。Sansei! Keikaku o tatemashou.I agree! Let's make a plan.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
