欲しい

• (Tokyo) ほしい [hòshíí] (Heiban – [0])[1][2]
• IPA^(key): [ho̞ɕiː]

欲しい (-i inflection, hiragana ほしい, rōmaji hoshii)

1. want, desire, to need

   私 (わたし)はこの本 (ほん)が欲 (ほ)しいです。

   Watashi wa kono hon ga hoshii desu.

   I want this book.

2. (after a -て verb form) to want someone to perform the verb

   彼女 (かのじょ)に勝 (か)ってほしかった。

   Kanojo ni katte hoshikatta.

   I wanted her to win.

• The act of wanting something in Japanese, unlike in English, is usually denoted by an adjective (欲しい) instead of with a verb ("to want").
• A verb denoting willingness (欲 (ほっ)する (hossuru)) exists, but its usage is quite uncommon.
• The usage of this word can be considered overly direct or childish.
• Adding たい (-tai) to a verb is also often used with a similar meaning:

  ケーキを食 (た)べたい。

  Kēki o tabetai.

  I want to eat a cake.

• When following the ない (nai) form of a verb + て (te) it means "don't want you to".