How to tell them apart
The core contrast is whose desire is being expressed. たい describes the speaker's own desire to perform an action (食べたい = I want to eat), while てほしい expresses wanting someone else to do something for the speaker (教えてほしい = I want you to teach me). Swapping them is unnatural because たい cannot target another person's action, and てほしい cannot describe your own action.
- 欲しい・ほしい Use てほしい when you want someone else to do something for you.
- たい Use たい when you yourself want to do something.
| Grammar point | Meaning | JLPT level |
|---|---|---|
| 欲しい・ほしい shii hoshii | Want someone to do something | N4 |
| たい tai | to want to do something | N5 |
欲しい・ほしい shii hoshii
Want someone to do something
ほしい expresses desire, either for a thing (used with が, as in ＭＰ３プレーヤーがほしい) or for someone to do an action, where it follows a verb in te-form plus ほしい (教えてほしい). It commonly appears with 思っている or 頼む when reporting what someone else wants.
-
やっとほしい本を手に入れた。
I finally got hold of that book I wanted.
-
ＭＰ３プレーヤーがほしい！
I want an MP3 player!
たい tai
to want to do something
たい expresses the speaker's desire to do something, meaning want to. It attaches to the masu-stem of a verb, as in 話したい or 言いたい, and can be followed by こと or なあ to form phrases like したいこと or したいなあ.
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したいことが出来なければ出来ることをしなさい。
When you can't do what you want, you do what you can.
-
話したいことがあるのだけど。
I want to talk to you about something.
欲しい・ほしい and たい are JLPT N5–N4 grammar points that Japanese learners often mix up. This page compares them side by side on meanings, usage and example sentences, so you can tell them apart.