Part 2 · Verbs, adjectives and the everyday basics · Lesson 20

Wanting and being able to: たい, ほしい, and the potential form

How to say you want to do something or want a thing, how to say you can do something, and the particle changes (を to が) that confuse every learner.

About 7 minutes to read

Three patterns do most of the work when you talk about desire and ability. They're short, and each behaves like a word you already know.

たい: want to do

Attach たい to the polite stem (the part before ます) to say "want to do":

食たべるeat→ 食たべ(stem)たいwant to

食べたい: want to eat

Verb	Polite stem	+ たい
食べる	食べ	食べたい
飲む	飲み	飲みたい
行く	行き	行きたい
する	し	したい

たい is an い-adjective. That means it conjugates like one: 食べたくない (don't want), 食べたかった (wanted), 食べたくなかった (didn't want).

日本にほんJapanに行いきたいwant to go

I want to go to Japan.

今日きょうtodayは何なにもnothing食たべたくないdon't want to eat

I don't feel like eating anything today.

子供こどもchildのとき医者いしゃdoctorになりたかったwanted to become

When I was a child, I wanted to become a doctor.

Because it's an adjective, the thing you want can be marked with が or を. Both are right:

水みずwaterが(is wanted)飲のみたいwant to drink

水みずwaterを(object)飲のみたいwant to drink

I want to drink water.

ほしい: want a thing

ほしい (欲しい) is an い-adjective meaning "want (a thing)". It's for objects, not actions. The wanted thing takes が.

新あたらしいnew車くるまcarが(is wanted)欲ほしいwanted

I want a new car.

時間じかんtimeが(is wanted)欲ほしいwanted

I want time.

To say you want someone to do something, use て-form + ほしい:

もっと早はやくearly来きてcomeほしいwant

I want you to come earlier.

The potential form: be able to

To say "can do", change the verb into its potential form:

Type	How	Example
ru-verb	drop る, add られる	食べる → 食べられる
u-verb	change final u-sound to the e-row + る	書く → 書ける、飲む → 飲める、話す → 話せる
する	できる
来る	来られる (こられる)

The potential form is a ru-verb, so it conjugates like 食べる: 書ける, 書けない, 書けた.

日本語にほんごJapaneseが話はなせるcan speak

I can speak Japanese.

漢字かんじkanjiが読よめないcan't read

I can't read kanji.

昨日きのうyesterdayは早はやくearly起おきられたwas able to get up

I was able to get up early yesterday.

彼かれheは泳およげるcan swim

He can swim.

The particle changes: を becomes が

A potential verb is a state ("Japanese can-be-spoken"). The thing it acts on usually takes が:

日本語にほんごJapaneseを(object)話はなすspeak

日本語にほんごJapaneseが(is possible)話はなせるcan speak

In everyday Japanese you'll also hear the を version (日本語を話せる), so both are right. が is the standard.

ことができる: a longer way

Dictionary form + ことができる also means "can do". It is a little more formal and common in writing and polite speech.

ピアノpianoを弾ひくことができるcan play

I can play the piano.

It's the same meaning as the potential form, but the potential is more natural in speech.

できる as a noun verb

For nouns that become verbs with する, you often say ができる:

運転うんてんdrivingができるcan

I can drive.

日本語にほんごJapaneseができるcan do

I can (do) Japanese.

Seeing and hearing: 見える and 聞こえる

Japanese has special words for what's visible and audible without trying:

Verb	Meaning
見える	can be seen, is visible
聞こえる	can be heard, is audible

ここhereから富士山ふじさんMt. Fujiが見みえるis visible

You can see Mt. Fuji from here.

声こえvoiceが聞きこえないcan't hear

I can't hear your voice.

These are about things that come to you, rather than something you choose to do (which would be 見られる, 聞ける).

Longer sentences

Wants and abilities show up in the same sentences as reasons and contrasts.

日本語にほんごがJapanese話はなせるようになりたいのでsince I want to become able to speak毎日まいにちevery day日本にほんのJapaneseドラマをdramas見みていますwatch

まだstill全部ぜんぶはall of it分わかりませんがdon't understand, but少すこしずつlittle by little聞きき取とれるようになってきましたhave become able to catch

I want to become able to speak Japanese, so I watch Japanese dramas every day. I still don't understand all of it, but little by little I've become able to catch what is said.

彼かれはhe歌うたがsinging上手じょうずでis good and将来しょうらいはin the future歌手かしゅにsingerなりたがっているがis wanting to become, but両親りょうしんはparents反対はんたいしているらしいapparently oppose

He sings well and wants to become a singer, but his parents apparently oppose it.

A language-learner's reflection

日本語にほんごのJapanese小説しょうせつがnovels読よめるようにso that I could readなりたくてwanting to become三年前さんねんまえにthree years ago勉強べんきょうをstudy始はじめたstarted

最初さいしょのfirst頃ころはtime一いちページone pageさえeven読よめずcouldn't read and辞書じしょをdictionary引ひいてもeven looking up意味いみがmeaning分わからないdidn't understandことがthings多おおかったwere many

今いまではnow知しらないunknown単語たんごがwordsあってもeven if there are前後ぜんごからfrom context意味いみをmeaning想像そうぞうできるcan imagineようになりcame to and本ほんをbooks読よむのがreading楽たのしくてenjoyable andたまらないcan't resist

I started studying three years ago because I wanted to be able to read Japanese novels. At first I couldn't read even a single page, and there were many times when I didn't understand the meaning even after looking it up in a dictionary. Now, even when there are words I don't know, I've become able to imagine their meaning from context, and reading books is irresistibly enjoyable.

Key points

たい after the polite stem = "want to do". It behaves like an い-adjective.
ほしい = want a thing; 〜てほしい = want someone to do something.
Potential: ru-verbs → られる; u-verbs → e-row + る; する → できる.
The object of a potential verb takes が (を also heard).
ことができる is the longer formal alternative.

Drill these patterns

Short example sentences for the points in this lesson: