I'm asking how do you say something like "I don't want to fail" in Japanese.
Yes, in anime they say something like "makenai". But I want to say or write it
like an actual Japanese sentence in the polite form not the informal form so
no slang please. I know -tai is I want to (verb). Any answer on how to say it
formally will be very helpful.
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2012-09-24T22:14:36.790
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2012-09-26T15:00:24.807
2012-09-24T23:30:01.950
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politeness phrases english-to-japanese
How do you say "I don't want to fail" in Japanese? The formal form of it?
You are using what could be interpreted as two different verbs:

> まける -> to lose
>
> しっぱいする -> to fail

Formally, I usually hear "I cannot afford to fail" rather than "I don't want
to fail".

> 失敗する余裕はありません。

If you want to sound cool, you could say "I don't have any intention on
losing".

> 負けるつもりはありません。
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2012-09-24T22:23:47.527
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2012-09-26T15:00:24.807
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The way that I would say it is:

> [負]{ま}けたくないんです。(maketakunain desu)

I'd be especially inclined to say it this way to the teacher of the class in
question, as it sounds explanatory and somewhat humble. This roughly
translates to "I'd like not to fail" or "I'd rather not fail." The "desu" is a
copula verb that makes the sentence a polite one.
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2012-09-24T23:11:26.443
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2012-09-26T04:58:13.630
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