ほしい (Hoshii) Meaning – How to Say “Want” in Japanese
There are primarily three different expressions that can be used to express wants. In this lesson we’ll be covering two of those ways: 1) When you or others want a thing and 2) when you want somebody else to do something.
欲(ほ)しい
Want
JLPT Level: N5
How to Use It
To say that we want something in Japanese, we would specify the item and then say が欲しいです. To say that we want somebody else to do something, we use the て-form of the verb and add 欲しいです. 欲しい is an い-adjective and can be conjugated as such.
Usage Pattern
Noun + が + ほしい（です）
Example 1
新しいコンピューターが欲しいです。
あたらしい コンピューター が ほしい です。
Atarashii konpyu-ta- ga hoshii desu.
(I) want a new computer.
Example 2
友達にも来てほしい。
ともだち に も きて ほしい。
Tomodachi ni mo kite hoshii.
I want my friends to come too!