Posted inN4 Grammar

Japanese Grammar: ～てほしい (Te Hoshii) – Expressing What You Want Others To Do (JLPT N4)

Posted inN4 Grammar
Japanese Grammar Template
Meaning & Usage

✨ Basic Meaning

This pattern is used to express the speaker’s desire or hope that someone else will do something. It can also apply to wishing for a certain situation or event.

🎯 Primary Function

To state what the speaker wants another person (or sometimes a non-human entity/situation) to do, functioning as a way to express a wish, a soft request, or sometimes a mild complaint/expectation.

📋 Grammar Structure

Verb て-form + ほしい (hoshii)

🎭 Usage Contexts

🏢 Formal Situations

Generally less common and can sound direct. Softened forms or other expressions like ～ていただけますか are often preferred in highly formal contexts.

😊 Informal Situations

Very common and natural among friends, family, and close acquaintances.

✍️ Written Language

Used in informal written communication such as emails, messages, or personal letters. Less common in formal reports or academic writing.

🗣️ Spoken Language

Frequently used in everyday conversation.

💡 Common Applications

Expressing a personal wish or hope.
Stating what the speaker hopes will happen, often involving another person’s action or a natural event.
Example: 明日、晴れてほしいな。 (Ashita, harete hoshī na.) I hope it will be sunny tomorrow.
Making a request or asking a favor (can be direct or indirect).
Can function similarly to ～てください but expresses the speaker’s personal desire rather than a direct command. Can sometimes feel more demanding or like an expectation depending on the context, tone, and relationship.
Example: この資料を読んでほしいんです。 (Kono shiryō o yonde hoshī n desu.) I want you to read these materials.
Expressing disappointment or a mild complaint about what someone is/isn’t doing.
Used to indicate what the speaker wishes had happened or was happening, often implying dissatisfaction with the current situation or someone’s actions.
Example: 彼はもっと一生懸命勉強してほしかった。 (Kare wa motto isshōkenmei benkyō shite hoshikatta.) I wanted him to study harder (but he didn’t).
📊
Frequency
High frequency in casual and informal spoken and written Japanese.
🎚️
Difficulty
Intermediate (JLPT N4 level). The basic meaning is simple, but understanding the nuances of politeness and appropriate contexts requires practice.
Example Sentences
宿題を手伝ってほしいですか？
Do you want me to help with your homework?
この歌を聞いてほしいな。
I want you to listen to this song.
彼にもっと真面目に勉強してほしい。
I want him to study more seriously.
Notes & Nuances

📌 Important Points

Connects to the て-form
Always attach ほしい directly after the て-form of the verb.
Example: する → してほしい (shite hoshii) 見る → 見てほしい (mite hoshii) 読む → 読んでほしい (yonde hoshii)
Subject of the action
The subject of the action described by the verb is usually the person or entity that the speaker wants to perform the action (not the speaker themselves). Often marked by に if explicitly stated.
Example: (彼に)来てほしい。 ((Kare ni) kite hoshii.) I want him to come. (雨が)止んでほしい。 ((Ame ga) yande hoshii.) I want the rain to stop.

⚠️ Common Mistakes

❌ Using for your own actions.
✅ Use ～たい (~tai) for your own desires to do something.
～てほしい expresses the speaker’s desire for someone *else* to do something. ～たい expresses the speaker’s desire to do something themselves.
❌ Using it in overly formal situations.
✅ In highly formal situations or with superiors, use softer expressions like ～ていただけますか or other humble/honorific forms when making requests.
～てほしい can sound direct or demanding in formal contexts. It expresses a personal desire rather than a humble request.

🏛️ Cultural Context

Politeness Level: Can range from friendly/warm (with friends) to quite direct or demanding (depending on intonation and relationship with the listener). Generally less polite than standard requests like ～てください or honorific language.
Social Situations: Most appropriate for use with friends, family, close colleagues, or people of equal or lower status. Use with caution or avoid entirely with superiors or in formal business settings.
Regional Variations: Standard across Japan, although specific intonation or appended particles (like な, ね, んです) can add regional flavor or soften/strengthen the nuance.

🔍 Subtle Differences

～てほしい vs. ～てください
～てほしい expresses the speaker’s desire or hope for an action to occur (focus on the speaker’s feeling). ～てください is a direct request or command (focus on asking the listener to perform an action).
When to use: Use ～てほしい when expressing a personal wish or a request that might feel slightly softer or more like an expectation. Use ～てください when making a more standard, polite request or instruction.
undefined
undefined
When to use: undefined
undefined
undefined
When to use: undefined

📝 Conjugation Notes

ほしい itself is an i-adjective and can be conjugated for tense and polarity: ほしかった (wanted [past]), ほしくない (don’t want), ほしくなかった (didn’t want). The verb preceding it remains in the て-form.

🔊 Pronunciation Tips

Pronounced as “te hoshii”. The double “ii” at the end of ほしい indicates a long vowel sound. Ensure the て-form of the verb is pronounced correctly before ほしい.

🧠 Memory Tips

Think of 「欲しい (ほしい)」 as “want a thing”. 「～てほしい」 is like “want [someone] to do the て-form action”. You want the *action* itself to happen, performed by someone else.

Practice Exercises
(You want your friend to lend you a book) 友達に本を＿＿＿＿。 (lend: 貸す – kasu)
貸してほしい (kashite hoshii)
貸したいほしい (kashitai hoshii)
貸してくださいほしい (kashite kudasai hoshii)
貸すほしい (kasu hoshii)
(You hope your family is safe) 家族に＿＿＿＿ほしいです。 (be safe: 無事である – buji de aru -> 無事でいる – buji de iru -> 無事でいて – buji de ite)
無事でいて (buji de ite)
無事である (buji de aru)
無事でいてください (buji de ite kudasai)
無事にいます (buji ni imasu)
41 Views
Leave a Comment

Comments

No comments yet. Why don’t you start the discussion?

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *