How can I say in Japanese “I want an apple”?
Want phrase
When we want to say that we want something,
欲しい
Hoshii
Want (desirable)
an adjective is typically used in Japanese.
And the grammar pattern using 欲しい (hoshii) is:
XはYが欲しい
X wa Y ga hoshii
X wants Y.
So, for example, we can say
わたしはリンゴが欲しいです。
Watashi wa ringo ga hoshii desu.
I want an apple (apples).
*The number of something is optional, and you don’t need to specify it if you don’t want to.
We can add the superlative:
今、わたしはiPadが一番欲しいです。
Ima, watashi wa aipaddo ga ichiban hoshii desu.
Right now, I want an iPad the most.
See also: Superlative
Something to pay attention for 欲しい phrase
When we make a 欲しい phrase, there is these rules:
- The subject have to be the speaker or the listener
- If the subject is the speaker, then it has to be a question
It is because in Japanese we can’t say the feeling of someone else directly (meaning, we can say it indirectly. We’ll learn it later at an intermediate level).
So,
A:
田中さんは、今、何が一番欲しいですか。
Tanaka-san wa, ima, nani ga ichiban hoshii desu ka.
Tanaka-san, what do you want the most right now?
*Here, this Tanaka-san is used to talk to Tanaka-san.
Tanaka-san:
iPadが一番欲しいです。
Aipaddo ga ichiban hoshii desu.
Right now, I want an iPad the most.
*Here, now it’s Tanaka-san who is the speaker.
This is an exception made for fictional characters, becausewriters or manga artists canexpress the desires of others directly.
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