How to Say ‘I want to go to the front!’ in Japanese
まえにいきたい！
mae ni iki tai
[mah-eh nee ee-kee tie]
💬 Usage Tip: Kids often say this. [〜にいきたい] = “I want to go to ~.”
🇯🇵 In Japan: Many kids naturally chase “forward”/the ball, so you’ll hear desire-to-attack phrases like this.
Phrase Breakdown
まえ
mae
[mah-eh]
front; ahead
Position word. In soccer, “in front” often means closer to the opponent’s goal/attack side.
まえ に出すぎないでね。
Don’t go too far forward, okay?
に
ni
[nee]
to; toward (direction)
Marks direction/target location: まえに = “to the front / forward”.
まえに 走って、スペースを作ろう。
Run forward and make space.
いき
iki
[ee-kee]
go (verb stem)
Stem of 行く. In いきたい, it expresses the desire “want to go”.
まえにいき たい けど、まず守ろう。
I want to go forward, but let’s defend first.
たい
tai
[tie]
want to (do)
たい attaches to the verb stem to express desire: いきたい = “want to go”. Kids say this a lot when they want to attack.
まえにいき たい！
I want to go forward!
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