がほしいga hoshii“want something”

がほしい means I want (something). It is a JLPT N5 pattern for saying that you want a thing: a new phone, more time, a quiet room, a day off. The thing you want comes before が, and ほしい does the wanting.

The key fact that makes this pattern easy once you see it: ほしい is an い-adjective, not a verb. That explains why the object takes が instead of を, and why it conjugates exactly like たかい or おいしい.

がほしい is for things. The moment you want to do something, switch to たい.

What does がほしい mean?

Noun + がほしい says that the speaker wants that noun. In a plain statement, the person who wants is you, even when you leave out 私(わたし)は, which Japanese usually does.

Natural English translations:

• I want ~
• I’d like ~ (with ほしいです in a soft tone)
• I wish I had ~

Because ほしい describes your inner feeling, it works like other feeling adjectives such as 好(す)き or こわい. It reports a desire; it does not ask anyone to hand you something. In a shop you ask for items with をください, not with ほしいです.

You will see ほしい written in hiragana most of the time. The kanji form 欲(ほ)しい exists, but N5 materials and everyday writing usually keep it in kana.

How to form がほしい

The desired thing is a noun, marked by が. Add です for the polite form.

Since ほしい is an い-adjective, it conjugates the same way:

• ほしい — want (casual)
• ほしいです — want (polite)
• ほしくない / ほしくないです — don’t want
• ほしかった / ほしかったです — wanted
• ほしくなかった / ほしくなかったです — didn’t want

You can describe the noun with adjectives before it: 新(あたら)しいかばんがほしい (I want a new bag), 静(しず)かな部屋(へや)がほしい (I want a quiet room). The adjective goes on the noun, and ほしい stays at the end.

In negative sentences, が often changes to は: 車(くるま)はほしくないです. The は adds a light contrast, as in “a car, I don’t want (but maybe something else).”

When is がほしい used?

Use がほしい in these everyday situations:

• Wishes and gifts. 誕生日(たんじょうび)に何(なに)がほしいですか (What do you want for your birthday?) is one of the most common N5 questions.
• Talking about needs in daily life. もっと時間(じかん)がほしい (I want more time) or 休(やす)みがほしい (I want a break).
• Past wishes. 子(こ)どものとき、犬(いぬ)がほしかったです (I wanted a dog when I was a kid).

Register notes:

• ほしい alone is casual. Use it with friends and family.
• ほしいです is polite and fine with teachers, coworkers, and strangers.
• Asking someone of higher status 何(なに)がほしいですか directly can sound too blunt, because you are asking about their private wishes. With friends it is completely natural.

がほしい example sentences

Look at the last sentence. When you talk about someone else’s wish, ほしい becomes ほしがっています, and the particle switches from が to を. That change is covered in the nuance section below.

Nuance of がほしい

ほしい describes a feeling inside the speaker. Japanese treats inner feelings as something only the person who has them can state directly. That gives がほしい two important limits.

1. Statements are first person. 私(わたし)は水(みず)がほしいです is fine. 田中(たなか)さんは水(みず)がほしいです sounds odd, because you are claiming to know Tanaka’s feelings from the inside. For other people, use one of these:

• 田中(たなか)さんは水(みず)をほしがっています。 — Tanaka wants water (you can see it in how he acts).
• 田中(たなか)さんは水(みず)がほしいと言(い)っています。 — Tanaka says he wants water.

2. Questions go to “you”. In a question, the listener is the one who knows their feelings, so 何(なに)がほしいですか is natural when talking to that person.

💡 Watch the particle: ほしい (adjective) takes が. ほしがる (verb) takes を. The particle follows the word type, not the meaning.

Also note that ほしい wants a thing, not an action. To say you want someone else to do something, Japanese uses a different pattern, てほしい, which you meet at N4.

がほしい vs たい

These two are the core “want” patterns at N5, and English uses the same word for both. The difference is what comes before them.

A quick test: if the English sentence has “want to + verb,” you need たい. If it has “want + noun,” use がほしい. Both are い-adjectives and both are first person in statements, so the rules you learn for one carry over to the other.

Common mistakes with がほしい

Is がほしい on the JLPT?

A typical question gives you 新(あたら)しいかばん（　）ほしいです and asks for the particle. Another type shows a verb stem like 買(か)い and offers both ほしい and たい. Only 買(か)いたい fits, because ほしい never attaches to a verb stem.

Practice questions for がほしい

Learning path for がほしい

Related grammar to review next

• たい — the verb partner of がほしい: “want to do” instead of “want a thing.”
• をください — what you actually say when you ask for the thing you want.
• い-adjectives — ほしい follows these conjugation rules exactly.
• がる・がっている — how ほしい becomes ほしがっている for someone else’s desire.
• てほしい — the N4 extension for wanting another person to do an action.

Learn がほしい with Hane

Hane drills がほしい next to たい and をください, so you pick the right “want” pattern without stopping to think. Practice the particle and the い-adjective endings in short sessions on Hane.