modality N5 essential casualpolitewritten
〜がほしい — to want (a thing)
〜がほしい ・ がほしい
Builds on ほしい
Meaning
- want ~ / would like ~ — desire for a thing (an object, not an action)
Key sentence
新しい靴がほしい。
I want new shoes.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | N + が + ほしい (conjugates as an i-adjective) | 時間がほしい / ほしくない / ほしかった |
Examples
誕生日に何がほしいですか。
What do you want for your birthday?
もう少し時間がほしかった。
I wanted a little more time.
今は何もほしくない。
I don't want anything right now.
When you can't use it
- ほしい states the speaker's own desire. For a third person, switch to ほしがっている: ×弟は車がほしい → 弟は車をほしがっている ('my brother wants a car'). Note the object marker also flips が → を.
Easily confused with
See 〜がほしい in real sentences
Jengo shows 〜がほしい the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled from published Japanese grammar references.