Activities: "How to say “want” in Japanese: ほしい (hoshii) and more!"

By: Mayumi Ito

Associated Articles

These activities are part of our Japanese Grammar series. The skills we are practicing here are covered in our article:

Activity 1: ほしい

Part I

Your birthday is coming soon! Your parent/sibling/spouse/friend has asked you what you want for your birthday. Let’s help them choose the right gift for you by telling them what you want and what you don’t want. Pick a minimum of two items–one you want and one you don’t want–from the items below (or you can come up with your own ideas). You can pick more if you want! Then write two sentences, each describing the item(s) you want/don’t want.

Word Bank: Gift ideas
スマホ sumaho smartphone	くまのぬいぐるみ kuma no nuigurumi teddy bear	ゲーム機 gēmuki gaming console	こいぬ koinu puppy
じてんしゃ jitensha bicycle	きもの kimono	ポニー ponii pony	せかいのへいわ sekai no heiwa world peace

What you want:
Example answer:
こいぬとポニーがほしい。[Koinu to ponii ga hoshii.]
I want a puppy and a pony.
What you don’t want:
Example answer:
スマホとゲーム機はほしくない。[Sumaho to gēmu ki wa hoshikunai.]
I don’t want a smartphone or a game console.

Part II

Your birthday has come and gone. Did you receive what you wanted? Write two sentences, one describing what you wanted (but didn’t get), the other describing what you didn’t want (but received anyway).

What you wanted, but didn't get:
Example answer:
こいぬとポニーがほしかった。[Koinu to ponii ga hoshikatta.]
I wanted a puppy and a pony.
What you didn’t want, but got:
Example answer:
ゲーム機はほしくなかった。[Gēmuki wa hoshiku nakatta.]
I didn’t want a game console.

Part III

Now it’s time for you to think about what other people want for their birthdays. Pick three people in your life (you can use the word bank below or come up with your own ideas) and write three sentences, each describing what the person wants. For practice, let’s use different expressions as instructed below.

Example: [person] は [what they want]

Word Bank: People in your life
いもうと imōto younger sister	あね ane elder sister	ともだち tomodachi friend
おとうと otōto younger brother	あに ani elder brother	いとこ itoko cousin

Use 〜がる[garu]:
Example answer:
いもうとはきものをほしがっています。[Imōto wa kimono o hoshigatte imasu.]
My younger sister wants a kimono.
👉 Did you remember to use the 〜がっている form to describe what a specific person wants or has been wanting? Also, did you use the particle を to mark what the person wants?
Use 〜と言っている[to itte iru](...says that…):
Example answer:
いとこはじてんしゃがほしいと言っています。[Itoko wa jitensha ga hoshii to itte imasu.]
My cousin says that he wants a bicycle.
👉 In this case, it’s a quotation. We need to use the particle が to mark what the person wants.
Use 〜そうだ[sōda](I’ve heard…):
Example answer:
ともだちはせかいのへいわがほしいそうです。[Tomodachi wa sekai no heiwa ga hoshii sō desu.]
I’ve heard that my friend wants world peace.
👉 In this case, it’s a hearsay. We use the particle が to mark what the person wants.

Activity 2: 〜たい

Part I

While browsing at an antique shop, you have found a magic lamp! When you rub it, a genie appears and tells you that you have three wishes. Now is the time to express what you want to do with 〜たい! You can choose three activities listed below (or come up with your own dream activities) and write three short sentences.

Word Bank: Wish ideas
おいしいコーヒーをのむ oishii kōhii o nomu to drink delicious coffee	富士山にのぼる Fujisan ni noboru to climb Mt. Fuji	サーフィンをならう sāfin o narau to learn surfing	すしをたくさん食べる sushi o takusan taberu to eat a lot of sushi
映画スターになる eiga sutā ni naru to become a movie star	金メダルをとる kin medaru o toru to win the gold medal	南の島にすむ minami no shima ni sumu to live in a southern island	うちゅうに行く uchū ni iku to go to space

Example answer:
(わたしは) おいしいコーヒーがのみたい (です)。[(Watashi wa) oishii kōhii ga nomitai (desu).]
I want to drink delicious coffee.
👉 わたしは and です can be omitted. (The same goes with 2 and 3.) The particle that marks the object of the verb can also be を in this case.
Example answer:
(わたしは)すしをたくさんたべたい (です)。[(Watashi wa) sushi o takusan tabetai (desu).]
I want to eat a lot of sushi.
👉 In this case we should use the particle を to mark the object because there is another element (たくさん) between the object and the verb.
Example answer:
(わたしは)みなみのしまにすみたい(です)。[(Watashi wa) minami no shima ni sumitai (desu).]
I want to live on a southern island.

Part II

To your surprise, your genie says they will grant three more wishes, not for you this time, but for three people in your life, with one wish for each. Now is the time you use 〜たい to express what other people want to do! Choose three people and write one short sentence for each, following the given instructions. You can either use the activities listed above or come up with your own ideas. Also, use the word bank in Activity #1 Part II for people.

Use 〜がる[garu]:
Example answer:
あねは映画スターになりたがっています。[Ane wa eiga sutā ni naritagatte imasu.]
My elder sister wants to become a movie star.
Use 〜と言っている[to itte iru](...says that…):
Example answer:
おとうとはサーフィンをならいたいと言っています。[Otōto wa sāfin o naraitai to itte imasu.]
My younger brother says that he wants to learn surfing.
Use 〜そうだ[sōda](I’ve heard…):
Example answer:
めいちゃん　は　うちゅうへ行きたいそうです。[Mei chan wa uchu e ikitai sō desu.]
I’ve heard that Mei wants to go to space.

Activity 3: 〜に〜てほしい and 〜に〜てもらいたい

Finally, let’s review 〜に〜てほしい and a related expression 〜に〜てもらいたい. In this case, read each situation and examine the corresponding Japanese sentence. If the sentence is correct, leave it blank. If there is an error, rewrite the sentence in Japanese orthography with the necessary correction. In the latter case, there is only one error per sentence (i.e., don’t change the subject, object, etc.) The definitions for key words are provided.

Situation: The speaker’s grandmother is 70 years old. The speaker wants her to live long.
Key words: 祖母[sobo](grandmother), 長生きする[nagaiki suru](to live long)
祖母には長生きしてもらいたいです。
Sobo ni wa nagaiki shite morai tai desu.
I want my grandmother to live long.
→
。
Situation: The speaker bought a new pair of skis, but there is not enough snow on the ground. The speaker wishes for a lot of snow to accumulate.
Key words: 雪[yuki](snow), たくさん [takusan](a lot ), つもる[tsumoru](to accumulate)
雪にたくさんつもってほしい。
Yuki ni takusan tsumotte hoshii.
I want snow to accumulate a lot.
→
。
👉 雪がたくさんつもる[yuki ga takusan tsumoru](the snow accumulates a lot) is a situation the speaker wishes to happen.
Situation: The speaker is reading a short Japanese story but struggling with some kanji. They want their teacher to tell them how to read those kanji.
Key words: 先生[sensei](teacher), 読み方[yomikata](how to read), 教える[oshieru](to teach)
先生、読み方を教えてほしいんですが・・・。
Sensei, yomikata o oshiete hoshii n desu ga….
Teacher, I’d like you to teach me how to read (these kanji).
→
。
👉 We shouldn’t use 〜てほしい toward our superiors. Instead, use 〜ていただきたい, the humble form of 〜てもらいたい.
Situation: The speaker comes home and sees some signs that their mother has entered their room to clean it. The speaker tells their mother that they want her not to enter their room without asking them first.
Key words: かってに[katteni](without permission), 部屋[heya](room), 入る[hairu](to enter)
かってに部屋に入らないでほしいんだけど。
Katte ni heya ni hairanaide hoshii n da kedo.
I want you not to enter my room without my permission.
→
。
👉 We can also say 入ってほしくない[haitte hoshikunai](don’t want you to enter).
Situation: The speaker can’t wait for the summer. They wish it’ll come soon.
Key words: 早く[hayaku](soon; quickly), 夏[natsu](summer), 来る[kuru](to come)
早く夏が来てもらいたいなあ。
Hayaku natsu ga kite moraitai nā.
I hope the summer comes soon.
→
。
👉 We can’t use もらいたい when we want a situation such as a natural phenomenon to happen.
Situation: The speaker knows that Kanta wants Satsuki to lend him a book.
Key words: 本[hon](book), 貸す[kasu](to lend)
勘太くんはさつきちゃんに本を貸してもらいたい。
Kanta kun wa Satsuki chan ni hon o kashite moraitai.
I’ve heard that Kanta wants Satsuki to lend him a book.
→
。
👉 We can’t use 〜てもらいたがっている[...te moraitagatte iru](want…to…) or 〜と言っている[...to itte iru](...says that…). Since the speaker knows it as a fact, we can’t use 〜らしい[rashii](it seems that…) and 〜そうだ[...so da](it looks like...)--expressions for conjecture.

To embark on your next language adventure, join Mango on social!

Ready to take the next step?

The Mango Languages learning platform is designed to get you speaking like a local quickly and easily.