Meaning & usage
ほしい expresses that the speaker wants a thing, such as an object, food, time, or item. It behaves as an i-adjective and follows the wanted noun, usually marked with が as in 車がほしい, and it conjugates as ほしくない for the negative and ほしかった for the past. It normally states the speaker's own desire, though it can ask about the listener's desire in questions like ほしい?, and が is often dropped in casual speech.
Example sentences 8
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デザートにアイスクリームがほしい。
I want ice cream for dessert.
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お金ではなくて、時間がほしい。
I want time instead of money.
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どちらがほしいのか言いなさい。
Tell me which you want.
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車がほしいですか。
Do you want a car?
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チョコレートほしい？
Do you want some chocolate?
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どうしてそんなに古い車がほしいのですか。
What do you want such an old car for?
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このブレザーにあうブラウスがほしいのですが。
I would like to get a blouse to go with this blazer.
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新しいテニスのラケットがほしいんだ。
I want a new tennis racket.
In past JLPT papers
This came up in 8 past exam questions.
And 4 more tests.
