欲しい

ほしい

to want, in need of

Also:I want (you, them, etc.) to (do)

What does 欲しい mean?

欲しい is a Japanese verb meaning “to want, in need of” in English. It can also be translated as “I want (you, them, etc.) to (do)” depending on context. It is written as 欲しい in kanji, ほしい in hiragana, and hoshii in romaji. This word is part of JLPT N5 vocabulary.

Example sentences

私は鉛筆をけずるナイフがほしい。

I want a knife to sharpen my pencil with.

この書類をそれぞれ２部ずつコピーしてほしいんだが。

I'd like two copies of each of these documents.