Learning how to express your desires is an essential part of mastering any language, and Japanese is no exception. In Japanese, two commonly used expressions to talk about wanting something are 〜たい (tai) and 〜ほしい (hoshii). Each of these has a different nuance and application, so let’s dive into how they work and when to use them!

1. Expressing Wanting to Do Something: 〜たい (tai)

The suffix 〜たい (tai) is used when you want to express the desire to do something. Here’s how it works:

1. Verb stem (ますform) ＋たい
   To use 〜たい, you take the verb stem (the part of the verb before ます) and add 〜たい.
   Let’s look at some examples:
   • 食たべる (taberu) – to eat
     • 食たべます (tabemasu) – to eat (masu form)
     • 食たべたい (tabetai) – want to eat
   • 行いく (iku) – to go
     • 行いきます (ikimasu) – to go (masu form)
     • 行いきたい (ikitai) – want to go
   • 見みる (miru) – to see/watch
     • 見みます (mimasu) – to see/watch (masu form)
     • 見みたい (mitai) – want to see/watch
2. Example sentences
   • 今日きょうパスタを食たべたい。(kyoo pasuta o tabetai)
     – I want to eat pasta today.
   • 水族館すいぞくかんに行いきたいです。(suizokukan ni ikitai desu)
     – I want to go to the aquarium.

Note: When using 〜たい, the sentence usually takes a slightly more casual tone, though it can still be polite when paired with です (desu).

2. Expressing Wanting Something: 〜ほしい (hoshii)

〜ほしい (hoshii) is used to express the desire to have/get something. It’s used with nouns, making it distinct from 〜たい, which is used with verbs. Remember, typically the particle が is used before ほしい.

1. 〜がほしい
   To use 〜がほしい, simply place the object you want before ～がほしい.
   Let’s see some examples:
   • 新あたらしい本ほんがほしいです (atarashii hon ga hoshii desu)
     – I want a new book
   • 車くるまがほしいです (kuruma ga hoshii desu)
     – I want a car
   • 新あたらしいかばんがほしいです。(atarashii kaban ga hoshii desu)
     – I want a new bag.
   • 可愛かわいい猫ねこがほしいです。(kawaii neko ga hoshii desu)
     – I want a cute cat.

Note: The subject of the sentence is usually the speaker when using ほしい. If you want to talk about someone else’s desire, you typically need to adjust the phrasing, which we’ll touch on next.

3. Talking About Someone Else’s Desires

To state someone else’s desires, you use structures that indicate you are guessing or inferring their wants.

• For 〜たい, use the third-person form by using ～たがっている (tagatteiru) instead of ～たい.
  • Example: たろうさんは水みずを飲のみたがっている。(tarou-san wa mizu wo nomitagatteiru)
    – Tarou seems to want to drink water.
• For ほしい, you can use ほしがっている (hoshigatteiru) to indicate someone else’s desire.
  Note that you use the particle を instead of が when it comes to third-person form.
  • Example: アリスさんは大おおきいアパートをほしがっている。(arisu-san wa ookii apaato o hoshigatteiru)
    Alice seems to want a big apartment.

4. Common Pitfalls and Tips

• Grammatical Particles: For ほしい, the noun takes particle が (ga) for the speaker’s desire, while it takes particle を (o) for ほしがっている which describes someone else’s desire.
• Using in Questions: If you want to ask someone what they want, add question particle か at the end of the sentence like 何なにが欲ほしいですか？(nani ga hoshii desuka?) meaning “What do you want?”. However, this can sound a little bit too straightforward if you are talking to someone older than you. In that case, you can say 何なにがいいですか？ (nani ga iidesuka?) which is directly translated as “What would it be good for you (What would you like)”.

5. Practice Exercises

1. Translate the following sentences into Japanese using 〜たい:
   • I want to watch a movie.
   • I want to drink coffee.
   • I want to visit Kyoto.
2. Translate the following sentences into Japanese using 〜ほしい:
   • I want a new phone.
   • I want a cat.
   • I want a bicycle.
3. Change the following sentences to express someone else’s desire using ～たがっている or ほしがっている:
   • 私わたしはアイスクリームを食たべたいです。I want to eat ice cream. (Change the subject to 私わたしの娘むすめは *My daughter)
   • 私わたしは新あたらしい車くるまがほしいです。I want a new car. (Change the subject to 私わたしの父ちちは *My father)
4. Fill in the blanks with the correct particle (が or を):
   • 彼かれは新あたらしい靴くつ___ほしがっている。He wants new shoes.
   • 私わたしは新あたらしいモデルの車くるま___ほしい。I want a new model car.
5. Create your own sentences:
   • Write two sentences using 〜たい to express your own desires.
   • Write two sentences using 〜ほしい to express your desire for something.

By understanding and practicing these expressions, you can more effectively convey your feelings and desires in Japanese, helping you to connect better with the language and the people around you. So, next time you want something, don’t forget to use 〜たい or 〜ほしい!