〜たい vs 〜がほしい: How to Say What You Want in Japanese

The core difference

Both express a want, but they differ on what they attach to — a verb or a noun:

The rule is simple and unbreakable: たい rides on a verb, ほしい rides on a noun. Everything else follows from that — if there's an action, use たい; if you just want the object, use がほしい.

See it in one situation

Same water, same thirst, two different ways to want it:

The first says Yattan wants to perform an action (drink). The second says Yattan just wants the object (water) — maybe to drink it, maybe to water a plant. The verb makes the intent specific.

〜たい — want to DO an action

Use 〜たい when you want to carry out an action. Take a verb, drop the ます, and add たい: 食べます → 食べたい, 行きます → 行きたい. It conjugates like an い-adjective (食べたくない, 食べたかった). With a direct object you can use を or swap it for が — both are heard.

Because たい needs a verb, "want to sleep," "want to buy," and "want to rest" are all たい: 寝たい, 買いたい, 休みたい.

Full details: 〜たい guide.

〜がほしい — want to HAVE a thing

Use 〜がほしい when you want to possess an object. Attach ほしい to a noun, normally with the particle が: 新しい靴がほしい ("I want new shoes"). ほしい is an い-adjective, so it negates and pasts like one: ほしくない, ほしかった.

If you ever want to say "want to have," you can still use the verb: 持ちたい ("want to hold/have") uses たい because 持つ is a verb — but for plain "I want a thing," がほしい is the natural choice.

Full details: 〜がほしい guide.

A note on other people's wants

Both たい and ほしい describe the speaker's own want. To report what a third person wants, Japanese switches forms: たい → 〜たがる (弟は行きたがる = "my brother wants to go"), and ほしい → 〜をほしがる (弟はお金をほしがる = "my brother wants money"). Notice ほしがる takes を, not が. You'll meet these later — for now, just know that plain たい/ほしい are for saying what you want.

Common mistakes

1. Putting たい on a noun. "I want water" is 水がほしい, never 水がたい or 水をたい. たい needs a verb; a bare noun takes がほしい.
2. Putting がほしい on a verb. "I want to eat" is 食べたい, not 食べがほしい. If there's an action, use たい.
3. Using ほしい with が for other people. For yourself it's お金がほしい; for a third person it becomes お金をほしがる. Don't say 弟はお金がほしい as a flat statement.
4. Forgetting to drop ます before たい. It's 飲みたい (from 飲みます), not 飲みますたい.

Quick recap

• 〜たい = "want to DO" → attaches to a verb stem (飲みます → 飲みたい).
• 〜がほしい = "want to HAVE" → attaches to a noun (水がほしい).
• Verb → たい, noun → がほしい. That's the whole decision.
• Both are い-adjectives: たくない/たかった, ほしくない/ほしかった.
• Both are for your own want; a third person uses たがる / をほしがる.

Your turn

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