N5 · Wanting and intending · about 5 minutes
Wanting things: ほしい
ほしい (want a thing)
ほしい says that you want a thing; wanting to do something is たい.
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“New to me”: the explanation first, then practice. “Test myself”: 3 short questions – get at least two right and you go straight to the harder exercises.
Words you will need2
They appear in this topic’s examples and exercises and are new at this point on the learning path.
- 自転車bicycle
- ずっとall the time; by far
Missing a word? Look it up in the dictionary
Understand
RememberWant a thing: がほしい. Want to do it: たい.
- Signal words
- 〜がほしい
- ほしくない
- ほしかった
- ほしいです
The form
How the forms are built
Each row gives the meaning first, then the form in Japanese. The colours show what changes from one form to the next.
stem (regular) ending
| want (a thing) | ほしい |
| don't want | ほしくない |
| wanted | ほしかった |
| didn't want | ほしくなかった |
| want (polite) | ほしいです |
| don't want (polite) | ほしくないです |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
The thing wanted is marked with が.
新しい自転車がほしいです。I want a new bicycle.
ほしい is for things, たい for actions.
時計がほしいです。時計を買いたいです。I want a watch. I want to buy a watch.
ほしい conjugates like an i-adjective.
子どものころ、ずっと犬がほしかったです。As a child I always wanted a dog.
In a question, ほしい asks about the listener.
誕生日に何がほしいですか。What do you want for your birthday?
Example sentences
広い部屋がほしいです。I want a spacious room.
今は何もほしくないです。I don't want anything right now.
もう少し時間がほしいです。I would like a little more time.
10 more example sentences
日本人の友達がほしいです。I would like to have Japanese friends.
小さいころは、何でもほしかった。When I was little, I wanted everything.
冷たい飲み物がほしいですね。A cold drink would be nice, wouldn't it?
どんなかばんがほしいんですか。What kind of bag are you after?
一番ほしかったゲームを買ってもらいました。Somebody bought me the game I wanted most.
休みがほしいなあ。I could do with a holiday.
前は車がほしかったけど、今はほしくないです。I used to want a car, but now I don't.
もっと大きい冷蔵庫がほしいです。I want a bigger fridge.
誕生日のプレゼントは何がほしい？What would you like for your birthday present?
静かな時間がほしいときは、公園に行きます。When I want some quiet time, I go to the park.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English "want" covers things and actions alike, so learners stick ほしい onto a verb. Japanese splits the job: ほしい takes a noun, and wanting to do something is たい on the ます-stem.
Quick check
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Practise
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Your progress
What your lesson on this topic shows:
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The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
ほしい is an i-adjective meaning "wanted", and it is how Japanese says "I want" about a thing. What is wanted is marked with が: 新しい自転車がほしいです, "I want a new bicycle". It conjugates like any i-adjective — ほしくない, ほしかった, ほしくなかった — and in polite style it simply adds です. It is written either in kana or as 欲しい.
たいis for actionsほしいfor things "I want a car" is 車がほしい; "I want to buy a car" is 車を買いたい. English uses one verb for both, which is why learners produce 車を買いほしい, a mixture of the two that does not exist.
The thing wanted does not have to be an object you can hold. Time, a holiday, a friend or a little quiet are wanted with ほしい just the same: 時間がほしい, 友達がほしい. A number or an amount sits after the noun and its が: りんごが二つほしい.
Like たい, ほしい is the speaker's own feeling. In a statement it is about "I", in a question about "you": 何がほしいですか. About anybody else, Japanese reports what they said or showed: ほしいと言っています or ほしがっています. And when you want somebody else to do something, the pattern is てほしい, which has a topic of its own.
A closer look
Offering instead of asking what somebody wants
何がほしいですか is a natural question between friends and in a family. Asked of a guest, a customer or a superior, it is too direct, for the same reason that 飲みたいですか is: it asks somebody to state their own desires out loud.
Japanese offers instead. コーヒーはいかがですか, "how about a coffee?", and 何になさいますか, "what will you have?", let the other person choose without saying "I want". With ほしい itself you will sometimes hear を instead of が, especially in long sentences; it is common in casual speech, but が is the standard and the safe choice.
Worth knowing1
Worth knowing
How many you want
A number with its counter stands after が, directly before ほしい: 切手が三枚ほしい, "I want three stamps". It does not go in front of the noun as it would in English.
紙がもう一枚ほしいです。I would like one more sheet of paper.