〜てみたい: Wanting to Try Doing Something (Meaning + Examples)
The colour it adds to a verb
Stack 〜てみたい onto a plain verb and it stops meaning simply "do X" — it becomes "I'd like to give X a try and see how it goes." That extra shade of tentative, curious wanting comes from bolting together two helpers you may already know: 〜てみる ("do something and see / try it out") and 〜たい ("want to do").
ヤッタンは日本に行ってみたいです。
ヤッタンは にほんに いってみたいです。
Yattan wants to try going to Japan.
一度、寿司を食べてみたい。
いちど、すしを たべてみたい。
I'd like to try eating sushi once.
一度 ('once') is a natural partner for てみたい.
モチはこのゲームをやってみたいそうです。
モチは このゲームを やってみたいそうです。
Mochi says she wants to try playing this game.
How it attaches: 〜てみる, then 〜たい
The base layer is 〜てみる — a verb's て-form plus みる, meaning "do something and see":
新しいラーメン屋で食べてみる。
あたらしい ラーメンやで たべてみる。
I'll try eating at the new ramen place.
食べてみる = try eating (and see how it is).
みる here comes from 見る ("to see"), but in this pattern it's written in kana. Add 〜たい on top and trying becomes wanting to try. So the full recipe is a verb's て-form + みたい:
| Verb | て-form | + みたい | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 行く (go) | 行って | 行ってみたい | want to try going |
| 食べる (eat) | 食べて | 食べてみたい | want to try eating |
| 着る (wear) | 着て | 着てみたい | want to try wearing |
| する (do) | して | してみたい | want to try doing |
The て-form is the engine, so never drop it — it's 食べてみたい, not 食べみたい. And with する, the みる absorbs the object directly: "want to try studying" is 勉強してみたい, not 勉強をしてみたい. If the て-form itself trips you up, review the て-form first.
Where the bending happens: the たい end
All the inflection lives on たい, which behaves exactly like an い-adjective — みる never changes. So you make it negative, past, and polite by bending only the tail:
| Form | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Present | てみたい | 行ってみたい (want to try going) |
| Negative | てみたくない | 行ってみたくない (don't want to try going) |
| Past | てみたかった | 行ってみたかった (wanted to try going) |
| Polite | てみたいです | 行ってみたいです |
Because it is an い-adjective, the negative is てみたくない — not a verb-style ending like てみみません.
ヤッタンの弟はスキーをしてみたかったです。
ヤッタンの おとうとは スキーを してみたかったです。
Yattan's little brother wanted to try skiing.
先生はバンジージャンプはしてみたくないそうです。
せんせいは バンジージャンプは してみたくないそうです。
The teacher says she doesn't want to try bungee jumping.
In use: a soft way to show interest
Because 〜てみたい frames the action as just trying, it sounds gentle and curious rather than demanding — a friendly way to say you're drawn to something new:
いつか、富士山に登ってみたいです。
いつか、ふじさんに のぼってみたいです。
Someday I'd like to try climbing Mt. Fuji.
いつか ('someday') + てみたい = a soft, hopeful wish.
Telling it apart from its neighbours
Two look-alikes to keep straight. First, drop the 〜たい and you are back to plain 〜てみる — that just does and sees (食べてみる = "I'll try eating"), while 〜てみたい wants to (食べてみたい = "I want to try eating"). Second, and more tempting: the みたい here comes from みる ("try"), not the "looks like / seems" みたい. The shape in front of it settles which one you are reading — a て-form means "want to try" (登ってみたい), a bare noun means "seems like" (学生みたい).
The short version
- 〜てみたい = want to try doing something.
- It's 〜てみる ("try doing") + 〜たい ("want to").
- Form it from the verb's て-form + みたい.
- Bend only the たい, as an い-adjective: てみたくない, てみたかった.
Practice it
Choose the correct 〜てみたい form for each verb.
＿＿＿に入れるのに最もよいものを選びなさい。
Choose the grammar pattern that best completes the sentence.
ヤッタンはいつか日本に行っ＿＿＿です。
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between 〜てみる and 〜てみたい?
〜てみる means 'do something and see / try it out' (新しい店で食べてみる = I'll try eating at the new place). Adding 〜たい turns it into 'want to try': 食べてみたい = I want to try eating.
How do I make 〜てみたい negative or past?
The たい part is an い-adjective, so: negative is 〜てみたくない (don't want to try), and past is 〜てみたかった (wanted to try).
Is the みたい in 〜てみたい the same as 'looks like'?
No. This みたい comes from みる ('to see/try'), so it means 'want to try.' The 'looks like / seems' みたい attaches to nouns and plain forms, not to a て-form.
Why is みる written in kana here?
Although it comes from 見る ('to see'), when みる is used as this helper meaning 'try,' it's conventionally written in hiragana: 食べてみる, not 食べて見る.
Where 〜てみたい fits
Shaky on this? Get these solid first
- 〜たい · N5 — 〜たい attaches to a verb stem to say what you want to do. Learn the formation, why it conjugates like an i-adjective, the が/を switch, how to talk about other people's wants (たがる), and see 12 examples.
- 〜てください · N5 — 〜てください is the standard way to politely ask someone to do something ('please do…'). Learn the formation, the negative 〜ないでください, softer variations, and see clear examples.
- The て-form · N5 — The て-form is the gateway to dozens of Japanese grammar patterns. Learn the conjugation rules for every verb group, the famous song trick, and see clear examples.
Don't confuse it with
- 〜たい · N5 — 〜たい attaches to a verb stem to say what you want to do. Learn the formation, why it conjugates like an i-adjective, the が/を switch, how to talk about other people's wants (たがる), and see 12 examples.
More N5 grammar to explore
Keep going with related patterns at the same level:
- 〜つもり — つもり expresses a personal plan or intention: 行くつもりです ('I plan to go'). Learn the dictionary-form pattern, negatives, つもりだった, and how it differs from よてい and 〜よう.
- だけ — だけ means 'only' or 'just' — water だけ, one だけ, look だけ. Learn how to attach it to nouns, numbers, and verbs, what happens to を and が, and how it differs from しか〜ない.
- も — The particle も means 'also/too' and replaces は, が, or を. Learn 〜も〜も ('both…and'/'neither…nor') and も with numbers for 'as many as' or 'not even.'
- 〜てあげる — 〜てあげる means you do an action FOR someone as a favour, from the giver's side. Learn the て-form + あげる pattern, the に particle, the さしあげる/やる politeness levels, and the condescension trap.
- 〜てくれる — 〜てくれる means someone does something FOR you as a kindness: モチが手伝ってくれた. Learn the form, the polite 〜てくださる, the request 〜てくれませんか, and how it differs from 〜てあげる and 〜てもらう.
- 〜てもらう — 〜てもらう means you receive the favor of someone doing something for you: the receiver is the subject, the doer takes に. Learn formation, the polite ていただく, and how it differs from てくれる and てあげる.