There are 2 different ways of expressing “want” in Japanese depending on what we want:

• たい form. It’s used when we combine “want” with a verb, so when we want to do something we use this form.
• 欲しい (ほしい) form. It’s used when we want a material thing, person or animal.

たい　form

When we want to do something we use the form たい. This form works as ます, so instead of adding ます to the verb we add たい to express a desire or action we want to do.

1. Godan

Ex.:

Want to study: 勉強する (べんきょうする) → 勉強したい

Want to run: 走る (はしる) → 走りたい

Want to see: 見る (みる) → 見たい

1. Ichidan

Ex.:

Want to walk: 歩く (あるく) → 歩きたい

Want to talk: 話す (はなす) → 話したい

Want to buy: 買う (かう) → 買いたい

Want to listen: 聞く (きく) → 聞きたい