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ほしい - hoshii means "(I) want (something)".
It is an -adjective and conjugates as
such.
The object of desire is usually followed by the particle が.
In negative
sentences, the particle は is also used. |
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いい漢字の辞書がほしいです。 |
I want a good kanji dictionary |
| ii kanji-no jisho-ga hoshii desu. |
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子供の時、ゴジラのおもちゃが
ほしかったです。 |
When I was young, I wanted a toy Godzilla. |
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kodomo-no toki, gojira-no omocha-ga
hosikatta desu. |
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| お金はあまりほしくありません。 |
I don't have much desire for money. |
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okane-wa amari hoshiku arimasen. |
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| 私は Xが ほしい。 |
I want X. |
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watashi-wa X-ga hoshii. |
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ほしい - hoshii (I
want) is similar to たい - tai (I want to
do...), in that its use is primarily limited to the first
person, the speaker.
These words are called "private predicates",
and they refer
to the inner sensations which are known only to the person feeling them.
Everyone else needs to rely on observations and guesses
when they want to claim that "person X wants such and such."
Japanese grammar, ever demanding that everything be stated in explicit terms,
therefore calls for an extra device for sentences with private predicates
as applied to the second or third person.
Among the words we have learned so far, kanashii (sad),
ureshii
(glad), and itai (painful) are private predicates.
The observations we make about
hoshii below apply to these words as well.
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You can quote the people who say they arc feeling these sensations. |
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ロバートさんは
コンピューターがほしい
と言っています。 |
Robert says he wants a computer. |
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robaato-san wa
konpyuutaa-ga hoshii
to itte imasu. |
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You can make clear that you are only making
a guess. |
きょうこさんはクラシックのCDが
ほしくないでしょう。 |
Probably Kyoko does not want a CD of
classical music. |
kyooto-san wa kurashikku-no CD-ga
hoshiku nai deshoo. |
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Or you can use the special construction which
says that you are making an observation of a person feeling
a private-predicate sensation.
In Lesson 11, we learned the verb
tagaru which
replaces nai. |
ともこさんは英語を
習いたがています。 |
(I understand that) Tomoko wants to study
English. |
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tomoko-san wa eigo-o
narai-tagate imasu. |
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hoshii too has a special verb
counterpart, hoshigaru.
It conjugates as an u-verb and is usually used in the
form hoshigatte iru
to describe an observation that the speaker currently thinks
holds true.
Unlike hoshii the particle after the object of desire
is wo [o]. |
| トムさんは友達をほしがっています。 |
(I understand that) Tom wants a friend. |
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tomu-san wa tomodachi-o hoshigatte imasu. |
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