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watasi ha rainen nihon ni ikitai desu.

私わたし　は　来年らいねん　日本にほん　に　行いきたい　です。watasi ha rainen nihon ni ikitai desu.
I want to go to Japan next year.
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Questions & Answers about watasi ha rainen nihon ni ikitai desu.

Why is the topic marker は used after 私 instead of が?

In Japanese, は marks the topic—what you’re talking about—whereas が marks the subject—the doer of the action.

  • By using 私は, you’re setting “as for me…” as the context.
  • If you said 私が来年日本に行きたいです, it would emphasize “I (and no one else) want to go next year,” which is unusual here.
Why is 来年 placed before 日本に?

Japanese word order generally goes:

  1. Topic (e.g. 私は)
  2. Time (e.g. 来年)
  3. Place (e.g. 日本に)
  4. Object (if any)
  5. Verb (e.g. 行きたいです)

So you say 来年 (“next year”) before 日本に (“to Japan”) to follow the natural Time → Place → Verb flow.

Why doesn’t 来年 have a particle like に after it?

Many time expressions can drop に in Japanese. You can say either:

  • 来年日本に行きたいです (more common, conversational)
  • 来年に日本に行きたいです (more explicit)
    Dropping に is natural for general time words like 来年, 明日, 来週, etc.
Why is に used after 日本? Can’t I use へ or を?
  • に marks the destination of movement.
  • へ also indicates direction, but is less specific (more “towards”).
  • を marks the direct object, not a destination, so 日本を行く would be incorrect.
    In most cases “go to a place” is 場所に行く.
What is the function of 行きたい? How is it formed?

行きたい expresses “want to go.” It’s formed by taking the verb stem of 行く (“to go”) and adding the suffix 〜たい, which turns the meaning into “want to (verb).”
Structure:

  • 行く (verb) → 行き (stem) + たい = 行きたい
What part of speech is 行きたい? Is it still a verb?

The 〜たい form acts like an i-adjective in Japanese, not a verb.

  • You can conjugate it like other i-adjectives:
    • Negative: 行きたくない
    • Past: 行きたかった
Why can we add です after 行きたい? I thought です follows nouns and na-adjectives.

While です normally follows nouns and na-adjectives, it can also attach to i-adjectives (including 〜たい forms) to add politeness.

  • 行きたい (casual) → 行きたいです (polite)
Can I omit 私 and/or です in casual speech?

Yes. In casual situations, it’s common to drop elements that are understood from context:

  • Drop 私: 来年日本に行きたいです。
  • Drop です for even more casual: 来年日本に行きたい。
Why is the verb always at the end of the sentence?
Japanese follows a Subject–Object–Verb (SOV) order. The verb naturally comes last, after any particles, complements, or modifiers.
Which reading of 日本 should I use here: にほん or にっぽん?

Both readings exist, but in everyday conversation にほん is overwhelmingly more common for “Japan.”

  • You’ll hear にっぽん in certain names (e.g. 日本代表 “Nippon Daihyō”) or to convey a more emphatic/nationalistic tone. IDField