modality N4 common casualpolitewritten
てほしい — want someone to ~
てほしい
Builds on て形
Meaning
- (I) want someone to do ~ — expressing your wish about another person's action
Key sentence
早く元気になってほしい。
I want you to get well soon.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| verb te-form | [doer] に [verb-て] + ほしい | 手伝ってほしい |
Examples
もう少し静かにしてほしいんですが。
I'd like you to be a little quieter, if you don't mind.
みんなにこの映画を見てほしい。
I want everyone to watch this movie.
そんなことは言わないでほしい。
I don't want you to say things like that.
When you can't use it
- It describes *someone else's* action, not your own. To say you want to do something yourself, use 〜たい (×自分が行ってほしい → 行きたい). Negative wish = 〜ないでほしい ('I want you not to ~').
Easily confused with
てもらいたい Near-synonyms; てほしい is the softer, more everyday choice, while てもらいたい (on もらう) can sound more deliberate or top-down. ほしい ほしい alone = want a *thing* (が marks it: 車がほしい); てほしい (te-form + ほしい) = want someone to *do* something. 〜たい 〜たい = want to do it yourself; てほしい = want someone else to do it.
See てほしい in real sentences
Jengo shows てほしい the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar.