ほしい

From Old Japanese, from Proto-Japonic *pəsi. Appears in the Man'yōshū of 759 CE and the Kojiki of 712 CE.[1]

Appears to be related to now-obsolete verb 欲る (horu, “to wish for, to want”). A surface analysis might suggest a derivation from root ho- + adjective-forming suffix しい (shii). However, the verb root is actually hor-, as 欲る (horu) has the 四段活用 (yodan katsuyō, “quadrigrade conjugation”) pattern, pointing towards a less straightforward derivation.

• (Tokyo) ほし​い [hòshíꜜì] (Nakadaka – [2])[2][3][4]
• IPA^(key): [ho̞ɕiː]

ほしい • (hoshii) -i (adverbial ほしく (hoshiku))

1. 欲しい: wanted, desired, needed

   私(わたし)はこの本(ほん)が欲(ほ)しいです。

   Watashi wa kono hon ga hoshii desu.

   As for me, this book is wanted → I want this book.

   (See usage notes below.)

2. (after a -て (-て) verb form) wanted or desirable that someone perform the verb

   彼(かの)女(じょ)に勝(か)ってほしかった。

   Kanojo ni katte hoshikatta.

   It was wanted of her to win → I wanted her to win.

   (See usage notes below.)

• About ほしい used to describe nouns:
  • Unlike English want, Japanese 欲しい is an adjective modifying the thing desired or wanted.
• About -て + ほしい:
  • The agent of the verb can be introduced by either に (ni) or が (ga).

    娘(むすめ)に笑(わら)ってほしい。

    Musume ni waratte hoshii.

    I want my daughter to have a happy face.

    雨(あめ)が降(ふ)ってほしい。

    Ame ga futte hoshii.

    (Lit. "The rain falls and (it) is wanted") I am waiting for a rain.

  • に can be ambiguous when an indirect object is involved, as this also takes に.

    佐(さ)藤(とう)さんに英(えい)語(ご)を教(おし)えてほしい。

    Satō-san ni Eigo o oshiete hoshii.

    I want someone to teach Sato English. (indirect object)
    I want Sato to teach English. (agent)

  • When the subject (the person that wants) is not the speaker, it is introduced by the topic maker は (wa).

    親(おや)は私(わたし)にもっとしっかりしてほしい。

    Oya wa watashi ni motto shikkari shite hoshii.

    My parents want me to work harder.

  • ほしい does not express the meaning "someone wants to do something themselves". In that case, the verb suffix たい is usually used instead. Compare:

    彼(かの)女(じょ)は帰(かえ)りたいと言(い)った。

    Kanojo wa kaeritai to itta.

    She said she wants to go home.

    彼(かの)女(じょ)は帰(かえ)ってほしい。

    Kanojo wa kaette hoshii.

    I want her to go home.

• A related verb denoting willingness (欲(ほっ)する (hossuru)) exists, but its usage is quite uncommon.
• Depending on context, the usage of this word could be considered overly direct or childish.
• When following the ない (nai) form of a verb + で (de), this construction means "don't want [someone else] to".

  君(きみ)は帰(かえ)らないでほしい。

  Kimi wa kaeranaide hoshii.

  I don't want you to go back.

• This term is commonly spelled in hiragana, with the kanji spelling reserved for formal contexts.

• 欲(ほ)しがる (hoshigaru, “to want, to desire”, used to describe others)

• 欲(ほ)る (horu, “to want, to wish for”, obsolete)
• 欲(ほ)りす (horisu, “to want, to wish for”, obsolete)
• 欲(ほっ)する (hossuru, “to want, to wish for”, modern)

/hosi ipi/ → /hosipi/ → /hosifi/ → /hoɕifi/ → /hoɕiː/

Shift from ほしいい (hoshiī)[5][6] due to the prohibition in Old Japanese against word-medial vowel clusters. (See Old_Japanese#Morphophonemics at Wikipedia.)

Ultimately a compound of 干し (hoshi, “drying; dried”, the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of verb 干す (hosu, “to dry, to air out”)) +‎ 飯 (ī, “cooked grain (usually rice)”).[7][8][2]

First cited in the Nihon Shoki of 720.[5]

• ほしいい (hoshiī)

• (Tokyo) ほし​い [hòshíꜜì] (Nakadaka – [2])[3]
• IPA^(key): [ho̞ɕiː]

ほしい • (hoshii) ^{←ほしひ (fosifi)?}

1. [from 720] dried rice (after already being cooked once)

   Synonym: かれいい (kareii)

   • 1883, 雨森芳洲 (Amenomori Hōshū), “飲食”, in 浦瀬裕, editor, 再刊交隣須知 (Saikan kōrin suchi)‎^{NDL NLK}, 外務省 edition, volume 3:

     糗(ハツタイ)ホシイニ白(シロ)砂(ザ)糖(タウ)ヲマゼテダセ

     Hattai Hoshii ni shirozatō o mazete dase

     Parched rice: Stir a little white sugar into the parched rice and serve it

     糗 강(乾)밥에^[SIC] 셜당(雪糖)을 타셔 내여라 (original Korean)

ほしい • (Hoshii) 

1. 星井: a surname