How to Say “I Want” in Japanese: Tai, Hoshii and Te Hoshii

To say you want to do something in Japanese, add 〜たい (-tai) to the verb stem: 食べる (taberu, eat) becomes 食べたい (tabetai, I want to eat). To say you want a thing, use ほしい (hoshii) with the particle が: 水がほしい (mizu ga hoshii, I want some water). To say you want someone else to do something, use 〜てほしい (-te hoshii): 来てほしい (kite hoshii, I want you to come). All three describe your own feelings, so talking about what other people want, or asking a superior what they want, needs a different form.

〜たい: wanting to do something

Take the polite ます form of the verb, remove ます, and add たい. The result behaves like an い-adjective.

Because たい works like an い-adjective, it conjugates the same way:

• 行きたくない (ikitakunai): I don’t want to go
• 行きたかった (ikitakatta): I wanted to go
• 行きたくなかった (ikitakunakatta): I didn’t want to go
• Add です to make it polite: 日本に行きたいです (Nihon ni ikitai desu, I want to go to Japan).

With a direct object you’ll hear both を and が: 寿司を食べたい and 寿司が食べたい are both natural. が puts a little more focus on the thing you want. See Japanese particles explained and Japanese adjectives.

ほしい: wanting a thing

ほしい is an い-adjective meaning “wanted” or “desired”. The thing you want takes が:

• 新しいパソコンがほしいです (atarashii pasokon ga hoshii desu): I want a new computer.
• 時間がほしい (jikan ga hoshii): I want (more) time.
• 何もほしくない (nani mo hoshikunai): I don’t want anything.

Use ほしい for nouns, and たい for actions. 水を飲みたい (I want to drink water) and 水がほしい (I want water) are both fine; 水が飲みほしい is not.

〜てほしい: wanting someone to do something

Take the て-form of the verb and add ほしい. The person you want to do it is marked with に:

• 友達に手伝ってほしい (tomodachi ni tetsudatte hoshii): I want my friend to help.
• もっとゆっくり話してほしいです (motto yukkuri hanashite hoshii desu): I’d like you to speak more slowly.
• 心配しないでほしい (shinpai shinaide hoshii): I don’t want you to worry.

〜てほしい can sound like a demand if you say it directly to someone. For requests, 〜てください or 〜ていただけますか is usually better. See the te-form.

Talking about what other people want

Japanese avoids stating other people’s feelings as fact, so たい and ほしい are mainly for yourself (and for questions to friends). For a third person, use one of these:

• 〜たがっている / ほしがっている: 弟がゲームをほしがっています (my brother wants a game, from how he acts).
• 〜たいそうです / 〜たいと言っています: 田中さんは京都に行きたいと言っていました (Tanaka-san said she wants to go to Kyoto).
• 〜たいみたいです / 〜たいようです: it seems they want to.

Be careful with superiors and customers

Asking someone senior 〜たいですか or ほしいですか (do you want…?) can sound too direct, even rude, in Japanese. Offer instead:

• コーヒーはいかがですか (kōhī wa ikaga desu ka): Would you like some coffee?
• 召し上がりますか (meshiagarimasu ka): Will you have some? (honorific)
• お手伝いしましょうか (otetsudai shimashō ka): Shall I help?

In business, you’ll also hear softer ways to state your own wishes, such as 〜たいと思っております and 〜していただけると幸いです. See keigo basics.

Practise it out loud

Want-forms are easy on paper and surprisingly easy to misuse in conversation, especially with other people and polite situations. Our native Japanese tutors teach one-to-one online, in English, and will get you using たい, ほしい and the polite alternatives in real conversations, with corrections as you go. Your first 15 minutes are a free trial.