がほしい・
Talking about wants and desires
Choose the form by asking two questions: what is wanted, and who would perform the action? Use がほしい for a desired thing, たい for an action you want to perform, and てほしい for an action you want someone or something else to perform. When describing another person's apparent wish to act, use たがる from an observer's viewpoint.
Start with the desired result
The English verb “want” covers four different arrangements. Identify the desired result before choosing the Japanese form.
You want a thing or resource
desired noun + がほしい
The desired element is a person, object, time, information, or another noun.
You want to perform an action
verb stem + たい
The speaker wants to do the action, or a question asks what the listener wants to do.
You want someone or something else to act
verb te-form + ほしい
The desired action or change belongs to another person, a thing, or a situation.
Said directly to the person expected to act, this can become a fairly direct request.
You observe someone else's desire
verb in the desire form ending in たがる
Someone's words, gestures, preparation, or repeated behavior provide evidence that they want to act.
This is an observer's description, not an automatic replacement used whenever the subject is a third person.
One plan, three different wants
Three desires arise while arranging a picnic. The thing wanted and the person expected to act change each time.
新しい水筒がほしいです。
I want a new water bottle.
Analyze公園で昼ご飯を食べたいです。
I want to eat lunch in the park.
Analyze友達に果物を持ってきてほしいです。
I want my friend to bring some fruit.
AnalyzeTakeaway: The first sentence selects a noun. In the second, the speaker eats. In the third, the friend brings the fruit. Keeping that person-role difference clear prevents the most common mix-up between たい and てほしい.
Whose inner desire can you state directly?
An ordinary positive statement with ほしい or たい normally gives the speaker's own desire. A question can ask the listener about theirs. For another person, Japanese usually presents their exact words, identifies the information as reported, or describes visible evidence with たがる. Simply changing the subject to another person's name can sound as though you know their private thoughts directly.
Inside view and observer view
One person states a personal desire; another person's desire is inferred from visible behavior.
私は今すぐ休みたいです。
I want to rest right now.
Analyze悠斗は何度もあくびをして、もう寝たがっています。
Yuto keeps yawning and appears to want to go to bed already.
AnalyzeThe repeated yawning gives the observer a basis for describing the apparent desire.
Takeaway: たい directly voices the speaker's wish. たがっている describes continuing signs of someone else's wish. The second form does not mean that the observer has certain access to the person's mind.
Keep the noun and the person acting distinct
With がほしい, が marks the desired noun. With a transitive verb ending in たい, を is a dependable choice for the object; が is also possible in suitable contexts that strongly highlight the desired thing, but the two are not mechanically interchangeable. With てほしい, a specific person expected to act is commonly marked by に; weather and other less controlled situations can be presented with が.
Desired changes and desired non-actions
てほしい is not limited to commands addressed to people. It can express a private hope about a situation, and its negative pattern expresses a wish that an action not happen.
When a desire sounds like a request
The same grammar can describe a private wish or place pressure on a listener who can satisfy it.
職場にもっと静かな部屋がほしいです。
I want a quieter room at work.
AnalyzeAs a general statement, this simply describes a desire.
その資料がほしいです。
I want that material.
AnalyzeSaid to a colleague holding the material, this is likely to be heard as a direct request for it.
弟には自分の道を選んでほしいです。
I want my younger brother to choose his own path.
AnalyzeThis can be a private hope rather than something said to the younger brother.
この数字をもう一度確認してほしいです。
I want you to check this figure once more.
AnalyzeAddressed to the person expected to check it, this functions as a direct request.
Takeaway: A polite ending makes the sentence grammatically polite, but it does not erase the message “I want this from you.” With friends, family, or close coworkers, that may be appropriate. With a customer, superior, or unfamiliar person, a more deferential request pattern is usually safer.
More examples across the family
今は温かい飲み物がほしいです。
I want a warm drink now.
Analyze来月はもう少し休みがほしいです。
I want a little more time off next month.
Analyze今日は家で本を読みたいです。
I want to read a book at home today.
Analyze明日は昼まで寝たいです。
I want to sleep until noon tomorrow.
Analyze先生にこの部分を説明してほしいです。
I want the teacher to explain this part.
Analyze会議中は携帯電話を見ないでほしいです。
I do not want people checking their phones during the meeting.
Analyze犬はドアを前足でかいて、外に出たがっています。
The dog is scratching the door with its front paw and appears to want to go outside.
Analyze娘は毎朝赤い靴に手を伸ばし、それを履きたがります。
Every morning, my daughter reaches for the red shoes and wants to wear them.
Analyze