日本に住みたい
nihon ni sumitai
To say "I want to live in Japan" in Japanese, use 日本に住みたい (nihon ni sumitai), a casual sentence that expresses your wish to make Japan your home.
Use 日本に住みたい when talking about your dreams or plans, for example with friends or language partners. The subject I is often left out because it is clear who is speaking.
What does it mean word for word?
日本 (Nihon) means Japan. に (ni) is the particle that marks the place where you live. 住みたい (sumitai) is the want to form of the verb sumu, to live.
Which one should you use?
日本に住みたい！ is an excited informal exclamation. 私は日本に住みたいです。 adds watashi, I and the polite ending for a formal full sentence.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
日本に住みたい is casual. Adding desu gives 日本に住みたいです, which is polite and suitable for strangers or superiors. 私は日本に住みたいです。 is formal.
How does it change in a sentence?
To say you wanted to live in Japan, change the ending to the past form sumitakatta, giving 日本に住みたかった.
How do you pronounce it?
It is pronounced nihon ni sumitai.
Did you know?
- In Japanese, it is considered grammatically unnatural to use sumitai to describe another person's desires. To say someone else wants to live in Japan, you must use sumitagatte iru because you cannot truly know another person's inner feelings.
- The characters for 日本 literally mean 'origin of the sun'. This is why Japan is globally known as the 'Land of the Rising Sun'.
- While 日本 is the standard name for Japan, it can be pronounced as Nippon. This version is often used on postage stamps and in sporting events to sound more formal and powerful.
Examples in context
- 日本の文化に興味があり、日本に住みたいです。I am interested in Japanese culture and want to live in Japan.
- すばらしい自然環境があるので、日本に住みたいです。Because there is a wonderful natural environment, I want to live in Japan.
- 日本の食べ物が大好きで、日本に住みたい！I love Japanese food and want to live in Japan!
- 友達がたくさんいて、楽しい生活ができそうで、日本に住みたい！I have many friends and it looks like I could have a fun life, so I want to live in Japan!
- 日本に住みたいです。Nihon ni sumitai desu.I want to live in Japan.
- いつか日本に住みたい。Itsuka Nihon ni sumitai.I want to live in Japan someday.
- ずっと日本に住みたいと考えています。Zutto Nihon ni sumitai to kangaete imasu.I am thinking that I want to live in Japan forever.
Example conversation
Ren and Himari are talking about their future dreams.
- 蓮 Ren将来の夢は何ですか？shourai no yume wa nan desu ka?What is your dream for the future?
- 陽葵 Himari私は日本に住みたいです。watashi wa nihon ni sumitai desu.I want to live in Japan.
- 蓮 Renいいですね！私もそう思います。ii desu ne! watashi mo sou omoimasu.That's nice! I think so too.
- 陽葵 Himari一緒に頑張りましょう。issho ni ganbarimashou.Let's do our best together.
