Desires and Preferences

🌸 Expressing Yourself in Japanese: Desires & Preferences

The Magic Words That Open Your Heart

Imagine you have a treasure chest inside you. It holds all your wishes, dreams, and favorite things. In Japanese, there are special magic keys that unlock this chest and let others peek inside!

Today, we learn three magic keys:

1. 🗝️ 〜たい (tai) → “I want to DO something”
2. 🗝️ ほしい (hoshii) → “I want to HAVE something”
3. 🗝️ 好き/嫌い (suki/kirai) → “I like/dislike something”

🗝️ Key 1: The “-tai” Form (I Want to DO!)

What Is It?

Think of tai (たい) as a magic wand you attach to verbs. When you wave this wand, the verb transforms from “I do” to “I WANT to do!”

The Simple Recipe:

Take any verb → Remove ます → Add たい

Let’s See It Work!

🎬 Story Time!

Little Yuki wakes up on a Saturday morning. Her tummy rumbles!

🍕 「ピザを 食べたい！」(Pizza wo tabetai!) “I want to eat pizza!”

Her mom says they’ll go to the park first.

🎢 「遊園地に 行きたい！」(Yuuenchi ni ikitai!) “I want to go to the amusement park!”

At night, she’s tired but happy.

🎥 「映画を 見たい」(Eiga wo mitai) “I want to watch a movie.”

The Secret Particle Switch 🔄

Here’s something cool! With たい-form, you can use を (wo) OR が (ga) for what you want:

✅ ピザを食べたい (Pizza wo tabetai) ✅ ピザが食べたい (Pizza ga tabetai)

Both mean “I want to eat pizza!” The が version emphasizes the pizza more.

⚠️ Important Rule!

たい is YOUR feeling! You can’t directly say what others want.

For others, add 〜がっている (gatteiru) to show “they appear to want.”

🗝️ Key 2: Hoshii (ほしい) - I Want to HAVE!

What Is It?

While たい is for actions, ほしい is for things! Think of it like making a wish list.

The Simple Formula:

[Thing] が ほしい = I want [thing]

🎁 Examples

🎬 Story Time!

It’s Tanaka-kun’s birthday! What does he want?

🎮 「新しいゲームがほしい！」 “Atarashii geemu ga hoshii!” “I want a new game!”

His sister asks about cake:

🍰 「チョコレートケーキがほしい」 “Chocolate cake ga hoshii” “I want chocolate cake!”

Tai vs Hoshii: The Clear Difference

graph TD
    A["What do you want?"] --> B{Is it an ACTION?}
    B -->|Yes! Like eat, go, see| C["Use たい!<br/>食べたい"]
    B -->|No! It's a THING| D["Use ほしい!<br/>ケーキがほしい"]

Quick Test:

• “I want to sleep” → 寝たい (Action!) ✅
• “I want a bed” → ベッドがほしい (Thing!) ✅

🗝️ Key 3: Suki & Kirai (好き & 嫌い) - Likes & Dislikes

What Are They?

These are your heart words! They tell the world what makes you happy 😊 or what makes you go “no thanks” 😖

The Formula

[Thing/Person] が 好き/嫌い (です)

🍣 Food Examples

🎬 Story Time!

Meet Kenji! Let’s discover his likes and dislikes:

⚽ 「サッカーが大好き！」 “I love soccer!”

📚 「数学が好き」 “I like math.”

🥬 「野菜が嫌い…」 “I dislike vegetables…”

🕷️ 「クモが大嫌い！」 “I really hate spiders!”

Adding Reasons with から

Make your feelings clearer by explaining WHY:

🍕 ピザが好き。チーズがおいしいから。 “I like pizza. Because the cheese is delicious.”

🏃 運動が嫌い。疲れるから。 “I dislike exercise. Because it’s tiring.”

🎨 The Complete Picture

graph TD
    A["Expressing Yourself"] --> B["Actions<br/>たい-form"]
    A --> C["Things<br/>ほしい"]
    A --> D["Feelings<br/>好き/嫌い"]

    B --> E["食べたい<br/>Want to eat"]
    C --> F["ケーキがほしい<br/>Want cake"]
    D --> G["音楽が好き<br/>Like music"]

🌟 Putting It All Together

Let’s use ALL three keys in one conversation!

Yuki: 今日、何したい？(What do you want to do today?)

Ken: 映画を見たい！(I want to watch a movie!)

Yuki: いいね！ポップコーンがほしい？(Nice! Do you want popcorn?)

Ken: うん！ポップコーンが大好き！(Yes! I love popcorn!)

Yuki: 私はアクション映画が好き。(I like action movies.)

Ken: 僕はホラー映画が嫌い…(I dislike horror movies…)

✨ Quick Summary

🚀 You Did It!

Now you have three magic keys to unlock your heart in Japanese!

Remember:

• たい = Your action wishes 🏃
• ほしい = Your thing wishes 🎁
• 好き/嫌い = Your heart’s likes & dislikes 💕

Practice these every day. Tell your cat what you want to eat. Tell your pillow what you like. The more you use them, the more natural they become!

がんばって！ (Good luck!) 🌸