てほしい (tehoshii) Meaning Japanese Grammar - I Want You To Do
Anna Baffa Volpe
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The expression てほしい (tehoshii) is used to express an action that we want another person to perform.
Depending on the situation it expresses the desire, the need, the necessity on the part of the subject for a certain action to be done.
I want you to do; I need you to do.
The expression contains the て form of the verb combined with the い Adjective ほしい meaning wanting, desiring, wishing for.
How to form てほしい
The expression てほしい is used in the present tense, past tense in both affirmative and negative forms.
The verbal form we are going to review is the て form, combined with the い Adjective ほしい which we can also find written with the Kanji 欲しい.
I don't want you to do
I wanted you to do
I didn't want you to do
Form with Ichidan Verbs:
このケーキが食べてほしい。
I want you to eat this cake.
The polite form is obtained by simply adding the copula です: ほしいです.
Form with Godan Verbs:
It is useful to review the て form for the Godan verbs, for some exceptions that modify the form and use the suffix て or で depending on the case.
メールを読んでほしい。
I would like you to read the email.
...
てほしい expresses a wish and a request in the first person
The expression てほしい in the various forms is used in the first person. I express what I want what I would like a person to do or not do for my desire, need or benefit.
The person by whom we want the action to be performed if expressed is followed by the particle に.
日本語の先生には、もっとゆっくり話してほしいです。
I want my Japanese teacher to speak more slowly.
できれば、そんなことはやめてほしい。
If possible, I wish you would stop doing that.
From a YouTube video, a Japanese girl talks about the trips you can take in a day 日帰り from Thailand.
0:00.00
-1:0-1.00
今回はタイから行く時、気をつけてほしい国というテーマで話ししてみます。
This time, I will talk about countries you should be careful when traveling from Thailand.
気をつける is a widely used expression in Japanese, meaning be careful, pay attention, take care.
Colloquially, you will often hear the imperative 気をつけてね！be careful!, watch out!.
We also find the form てみる, try to do something; literally: I'll try to talk about.
Negative forms てほしくない and ないでほしい: I don't want you to do
てほしい is also used in its negative form てほしくない and in the polite form てほしくないです.
In this case, the subject, the first person asks the interlocutor not to perform a certain action due to his / her own need, desire or preference, for some personal reasons that may or may not be expressed.
Another way to express the negative form:
- use the negative gerund form Base in あ + ないで for Godan verbs
- and the adjective ほしい in its affirmative form
literally "I want you not to do"
literally 'I wished you wouldn't do'
Examples with the 2 forms てほしくない and ないでほしい:
そこに行ってほしくない。
I don't want you to go there.
そこに行かないでほしい。
I want you not to go there.
The two sentences are generally interchangeable, the second one expressed with ないでほしい is however more direct, explicit and stronger than the form in てほしい.
ないでほしい generally expresses an explicit request to the interlocutor, it can be replaced by ないでください.
そのことは誰にも言わないでほしい。
Please don't tell anyone about that.
Literally the sentence is translated: I want you not to tell anyone about that.
...
Examples of てほしい
A funny cartoon that uses the form with 2 verbs: 分かるunderstand, comprehend and 気づく notice, realize, become aware of.
わかってほしい！気づいてほしい！
I want you to understand! I want you to notice!
子供には、もっと運動してほしいです。
I would like my child to exercise more.
Image from a Japanese car advertising video:
日本国内でも販売してほしい車、日産「キャシュカイ」
Nissan Qashqai, a car that should be sold also in Japan.
Similar grammar points in Japanese 📚
させられる・せられる
させられる・せられる (saserareru serareru) Meaning Japanese Grammar - Ｔo Be Made To Do Something
ないで～なくて
ないで～なくて (naide / nakute) Meaning Japanese Grammar - Without Doing
ないで
ないで (naide) Meaning Japanese Grammar - Without Doing
など
など (nado) Meaning Japanese Grammar - Etc
必要がある
必要がある (hitsuyou ga aru) Meaning Japanese Grammar - Need
必要だ
必要だ (Hitsuyou da) Meaning Japanese Grammar - Need