What it means
たかった expresses that someone wanted to do an action at a past time. It attaches to the masu stem of a verb. The desire may be about an earlier time or may be viewed as a past desire. In familiar speech, たかった is used with plain sentence endings; in polite speech, たかったです is used.
Usage note
たかった usually describes the speaker's own desire or a desire known from the person's words. To describe another person's observable desire, Japanese commonly uses たがっていました instead.
How to use it
昨日、図書館で本を読みたかったです。
Yesterday, I wanted to read a book at the library.
昨日、図書館で本を読みたかった。
Yesterday, I wanted to read a book at the library.
Example sentences
子どものころ、海で泳ぎたかったです。
When I was a child, I wanted to swim in the sea.
先週の休みに動物園へ行きたかったです。
I wanted to go to the zoo during last week's break.
昨日は新しい靴を買いたかったです。
Yesterday, I wanted to buy new shoes.
去年の母の誕生日