How to Say “I Want Someone to Do Something” in Japanese | Using V-て + ほしい

Introduction

Want to say things like:

• “I want my friend to come.”
• “I wanted my mom to pick me up.”
• “I don’t want that person to speak.”

In Japanese, when you want someone else to do something for you, you use:

Person + に + V-て + ほしい（です）
= I want (person) to do ~

Let’s learn how to express your wishes toward others naturally and politely in Japanese!

1. Grammar Structure

Pattern: [Person] + に + [V-て form] + ほしい（です）

2. Step-by-Step Breakdown

（わたしは）Person に V-て ほしい（です）。

The person feeling the desire (the speaker) is usually the subject, often omitted, and would typically be marked by は or が if included.

gokigen penguin

If you are not confident in verb te-forms, review Lesson 6 of Level 1!

3. Conjugation of ほしい

As we learned in ～がほしい (I want ~), ほしい behaves as an い-adjective, and you can conjugate it as such.

Note: Negative forms

In addition to 〜てほしくないです, Japanese also commonly uses 〜ないでほしいです to express a negative request.

Both mean “I don’t want someone to do something,” but 〜ないでほしいです is often used when you want to clearly emphasize not doing the action.

Examples:

• うそをついてほしくないです。
  → I don’t want you to lie.
• うそをつかないでほしいです。
  → I want you not to lie.

In practice, both forms are natural, and the difference is usually one of focus rather than meaning.

4. Example Sentences

子こどもに野菜やさいを食たべてほしいです。
I want my child to eat vegetables.

先生せんせいに名前なまえを覚おぼえてほしいです。
I want the teacher to remember my name.

彼女かのじょにもっと笑わらってほしかったです。
I wanted her to smile more.

彼氏かれしにプレゼントを買かってほしかったです。
I wanted my boyfriend to buy me a gift.

5. Tip: Talking About Someone Else’s Wishes

When the subject is not you, you cannot normally use 〜てほしい directly to state another person’s desire.

Instead, Japanese uses specific patterns to show that the wish belongs to someone else, or that you are reporting or inferring it.

Here are the most common variations:

〜てほしがっています (observed desire)

Use this when you observe someone’s behavior or attitude and infer their wish.

[Situation] Your friend Yuki is complaining to you that she hasn’t heard from her boyfriend on a business trip for a while. She’s feeling lonely.

You can say:

ユキは彼氏かれしにもっと連絡れんらくしてほしがっています。
Yuki wants her boyfriend to contact her more. (based on how she acts)

This form describes an observable desire rather than something directly stated.

〜てほしいそうです (heard desire)

Use this when you heard about someone’s wish from another person.

[Situation] Your coworker tells you that Mr. Tanaka has been saying he wants clearer explanations from his boss.

You can say:

田中たなかさんは上司じょうしにもっとわかりやすく説明せつめいしてほしいそうです。
I heard that Mr. Tanaka wants his boss to explain things more clearly.

This form clearly shows that the information is hearsay, not your own judgment or direct knowledge.

〜てほしいと言っていました (reported speech)

Use this when the person explicitly stated their wish, and you are reporting what they said.

[Situation] While chatting in the park, your friend Emi told you, “I want my daughter to eat vegetables.” After returning home, you share what Emi said with your partner.

You can say:

エミは娘むすめに野菜やさいを食たべてほしいと言いっていました（casual speech: 食べてほしいって言ってた）。
Emi said she wants her daughter to eat vegetables.

This form is used when the desire was clearly spoken, and you are accurately reporting their words.

6. Practice

Make your own sentences using the structure:

FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Now you can:

✅ Express “I want someone to do something”
✅ Use て-form + ほしい naturally
✅ Conjugate ほしい to match your intended meaning

🎯 Try this:
Write 3 sentences about something you want someone to do — and 2 about what you didn’t want!