Similar to ～がga すきsuki, the way to express what you want uses an adjective, but this time, it’s an いiadjective, ほしいhoshii.

• わたしwatashi はwa ～がga ほしいhoshii です desu = I want ～

You place what you want where ～ is. You should remember the following points with ほしいhoshii.

• As you cannot really tell what other people really wants, ほしいhoshii sentence should always start with わたしwatashi はwa (= I). You should not talk about what another person wants using ほしいhoshii.
• Because the subject should always be わたしwatashi はwa, that part is most of the time omitted (i.e. implied, not expressed).
• If you say “I want ～” in English, it sounds a bit too direct (you would usually soften it by phrasing it to “I’d like ～”). The same here. This Japanese expression is better avoided if you can as it sounds a bit too direct and childish.

Example Sentences

ペットpetto がga ほしいhoshii ですdesu。
I want a pet.

おいしいoishii すしsushi がga ほしいhoshii ですdesu。
I want some delicious sushi.

あたらしいatarashii ふくhuku がga ほしいhoshii ですdesu。
I want some new clothes.

おじいちゃんojiichan のno めがねmegane がga ほしいhoshii ですdesu。
I want Grandpa’s glasses.

Vocabulary

Asking what somebody likes/wants

If you want to find out what somebody likes/wants, you can just use the question word なに before the particle が.

なにnaniがga すきsukiですdesuかka。
What do you like?
– チョコレートchokoreetoがga すきsukiですdesu。
I like chocolate.

おとうさんotousanはwa なにnaniがga きらいkiraiですdesuかka。
What do you dislike, Father? (talking to your father)
– やさいyasaiがga きらいkiraiですdesu。
I don’t like vegetables.
What doesn’t your father like? (talking about your father)
– ちちchichiはwa やさいyasaiがga きらいkirai ですdesu。
My father doesn’t like vegetables.

たんじょうびtanjoubiにni なにnaniがga ほしいhoshiiですdesuかka。
What would you like for your birthday?
– チョコレートchokoreetoがga ほしいhoshii ですdesu。
I want some chocolate.

Suggested Activities

Following the pattern, write a few sentences about what you want. Try to use as many different words as you can from all the vocab you have learned so far.