Lesson 19 · about 5 minutes

I want [a thing]

hoshii desu · hoshii · ~ ga hoshii desu

ほしいです・ほしい・〜が ほしいです

You'll learn how to say you want a noun — a thing, not an action.

The pattern

たい = do, ほしい = thing.

RomajiJapaneseReadingMeaning
hoshii desuほしいですほしいですI want [a thing] (polite)
hoshiiほしいほしいwant (casual / plain)
~ ga hoshii desu〜が ほしいです〜が ほしいですI want [thing] — thing takes が

How they differ

ほしいです follows a noun you want. The noun often takes が (ga):

「みず が ほしいです。」(mizu ga hoshii desu): I want water.

「それ が ほしいです。」(sore ga hoshii desu): I want that.

Quick contrast with Lesson 12:

たいです (tai desu) = want to do a verb → たべたいです (want to eat)

ほしいです (hoshii desu) = want a noun → すし が ほしいです (want sushi)

Same English word "want," two Japanese shapes. Match verb-wish vs thing-wish.

Asking someone 「〜が ほしいですか?」is fine in soft story dialogue; for strangers, softer shopping lines (ください) often feel safer.

Thing wish: noun + が + ほしいです. たい = verb wish · ほしい = thing wish.

One line: たい = do, ほしい = thing.

Next: Social glue you'll hear everywhere: だいじょうぶです / いいです / すみません.

See it in a sentence

  1. mizu ga hoshii desu

    みず が ほしいです。

    I want water. (polite)

  2. sore ga hoshii desu

    それ が ほしいです。

    I want that. (polite)

  3. chiketto ga hoshii desu

    チケット が ほしいです。

    I want a ticket. (polite)

  4. nani ga hoshii desu ka?

    なに が ほしいですか?

    What do you want? (polite)

  5. koohii ga hoshii

    コーヒー が ほしい。

    I want coffee. (casual)

Watch out

ほしいです (hoshii desu) = want a noun / thing たいです (tai desu) = want to do a verb が (ga) often marks the wanted thing with ほしい — same が habit as すき

Try it

  1. In your next story, find ほしい or たい. Say out loud whether it's a thing-wish (ほしい) or a verb-wish (たい).

    Check against the lesson cluster and say it out loud.