GrammarJLPT N5
→ want something
Wanting Something (Desire for a Noun)
JLPT N5Auxiliary verbNeutral
～がほしい is used to express the speaker's desire to have or obtain something. It attaches to nouns, with the particle が marking the desired object. Grammatically, ほしい behaves as an い-adjective, so it conjugates like one: the negative is ほしくない, the past is ほしかった, and so on. An important restriction is that ～がほしい is typically used only for the first person (the speaker) in statements, or the second person in questions. To describe what a third person wants, Japanese uses ～がほしがる or ～がほしがっている instead. This grammar point expresses a desire to possess a noun, whereas ～たい expresses a desire to perform an action (verb). Learners should also distinguish ～がほしい from ～てほしい, which means wanting someone else to do something for you.
Examples
Example #1
私は 新しい くつ がほしい。
This is the most basic use of がほしい. The speaker states a personal desire to have something — in this case, new shoes. The particle が marks the desired object (くつ), and ほしい functions as an い-adjective predicate. Since the subject is the speaker (私), this is natural and grammatically correct.I want new shoes.
Structures
- Noun
- (Person は +) Noun + が + ほしい
Common mistakes
A very common mistake is using がほしい with verbs instead of nouns. To express wanting to do an action, use ～たい instead (e.g., 食べたい, not 食べるがほしい). Another frequent error is using がほしい to describe a third person's desire in a plain statement, such as 「田中さんは車がほしい」— this sounds unnatural because ほしい expresses an internal feeling that the speaker cannot directly assert about someone else. Use ほしがっている for third persons. Some learners also mark the desired object with を instead of が. While を is occasionally seen in modern casual speech, が is the standard and correct particle to use with ほしい. Finally, learners sometimes confuse がほしい (wanting a thing) with ～てほしい (wanting someone to do something) — these are distinct grammar points with different structures and meanings.
Related
～たい～がほしがる～てほしい～たがる～がすき