〜てほしくない: 'I Don't Want [Someone] To...' (否定願望) (Meaning + Examples)
Wishing someone wouldn't do something
〜てほしくない expresses that the speaker hopes a certain person will not do a certain action — the person who'd be doing it is usually marked with に.
ヤッタンにはもう嘘をついてほしくない。
ヤッタンには もう うそを ついてほしくない。
I don't want Yattan to lie anymore.
ヤッタンに marks who the speaker wishes wouldn't do it.
子供にはたばこを吸ってほしくない。
こどもには たばこを すってほしくない。
I don't want my child to smoke.
モチには無理をしてほしくない。
モチには むりをしてほしくない。
I don't want Mochi to push himself too hard.
Form
| Attaches to | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb (て-form) | 動詞て + ほしくない | 行ってほしくない (don't want [them] to go) |
| Person who'd act | 人 + に + 〜てほしくない | 弟にはやめてほしくない (don't want my brother to quit) |
ヤッタンにはそんな無理な計画をやめてほしくなかった。
ヤッタンには そんな むりな けいかくを やめてほしくなかった。
I hadn't wanted Yattan to give up on such a reckless plan.
Past tense: ほしくなかった.
Don't confuse with 〜ないでほしい
〜ないでほしい takes the plain ない-form and says the same basic thing — "I want you to not do it" — but it's built as a direct request about the negative action itself (行かないでほしい, "please don't go"), so it often lands more like a direct plea. 〜てほしくない, by contrast, negates the wish (行ってほしい → 行ってほしくない), so it reads a little more like describing your own feeling than issuing a request. In casual speech, 〜ないでほしい is heard more often when asking someone directly not to do something right now.
The short version
- て-form + ほしくない = "I don't want [someone] to do that" — negative of てほしい.
- Attaches to: て-form of the verb; the person is marked with に.
- Nuance/register: reads as the speaker's own wish, softer than a direct command.
- Don't confuse with: 〜ないでほしい, a more direct "please don't" built on the ない-form.
Practice it
Pick the sentence that correctly expresses not wanting someone to do something.
＿＿＿に入れるのに最もよいものを選びなさい。
モチは、やったんに夜遅くまで＿＿＿。
Where 〜てほしくない fits
Shaky on this? Get these solid first
- 〜がほしい · N5 — ほしい expresses wanting a thing (a noun): 〜がほしい. Learn the formation, the が particle, the 〜てほしい variant ('want someone to do'), and how it differs from 〜たい.
- 〜てください · N5 — 〜てください is the standard way to politely ask someone to do something ('please do…'). Learn the formation, the negative 〜ないでください, softer variations, and see clear examples.
Don't confuse it with
- 〜ていかない · N2 — 〜ていかない is the negative of 〜ていく — it says a gradual change or ongoing process will not continue moving forward from now on. It negates the 'progressing away from the present' meaning of ていく.
- 〜てからでないと · N2 — 〜てからでないと attaches to the te-form of a verb to mean 'unless/until X happens first, [cannot happen]' — it states a strict precondition, usually followed by a negative like できない. Stronger than plain てから.
- 〜てこない · N2 — 〜てこない is the negative of 〜てくる — it says an action or change that was expected to approach or arrive simply hasn't happened. It negates the 'coming toward the present' meaning of てくる, not just plain 来る.
- 〜てならない · N1 — 〜てならない attaches to feeling verbs or adjectives to mean an emotion is uncontrollable — 気になってならない ('I just can't stop worrying'). Formal and literary, don't confuse it with the unrelated 〜てはならない ('must not').
More N2 grammar to explore
Keep going with related patterns at the same level:
- 〜てばかりは — 〜てばかりは pairs 'only/nothing but doing X' with a contrastive は to set up a negative like いられない or いけない — 'I can't just keep only doing X (something else needs attention).' It flags an action as excessive or one-sided.
- 〜てからというもの — 〜てからというもの marks a turning point after which a big, lasting change has continued, with emphasis — 日本に来てからというもの、生活が一変した. More emphatic and literary than 〜てから or 〜て以来.
- 〜お願いします／お願い申し上げます — 〜お願いします and its more formal cousin 〜お願い申し上げます attach after a noun, ご+verb-stem, or 〜のほど to make a very polite, humble request — ご確認お願いします ('please confirm'). Common in business Japanese and formal writing.
- 〜ねばならない — 〜ねばならない is the formal, literary way to say 'must / have to,' built from the negative conditional 〜ねば ('if not') + ならない ('won't do'). Common in writing, speeches, and rules.
- 〜ぶりに — 〜ぶりに attaches to a period of time to mean 'for the first time in [that period]' — 3年ぶりに (for the first time in 3 years). It marks a gap since the last occurrence, often with a nostalgic or relieved feel.
- どうやら — どうやら is an adverb meaning 'it seems' or 'apparently' — a guess based on what you've observed, usually paired with らしい or ようだ at the end of the sentence: どうやら〜らしい ('it seems that...').