What difference between ほしい (hoshii) and したい (shitai)?


What is the difference between those two ways of saying "to want"?

  * _shitaindesuga_
  * _hoshiindesuga_




The 〜たい _-tai_ form attaches to the _masu_ -stem of a **verb** to form "to
want to [verb]", e.g. 食べたい _tabetai_ "to want to eat". The form したい _shitai_
is only the special case of 〜たい attached to する "to do". Even though it
attaches to a verb, the result is an _i_ -adjective (unlike in English).

(が)ほしい comes after a **noun** and means "to want [to have/own] a/the [noun]".
Like practically all words ending in しい, it is an _i_ -adjective as well.

(～て)ほしい may also come after the _te_ -form of a verb and means "to want so. to
do [verb] [for me]", for example 食べてほしい "I want so. to eat [this]".

In general, these constructions are different, but in case the verb is a "
_suru_ -verb" (i.e. of the form [noun]+ _suru_ ) they may appear similar.
However, they usually do mean something different:

> 電話(を)したい  
>  _denwa (wo) shitai_  
>  I want to make a call / I want to call [so.]
>
> 電話がほしい  
>  _denwa ga hoshii_  
>  I want [to own/to have] a phone
>
> 電話(を)してほしい  
>  _denwa (wo) shite hoshii_  
>  I want you to make a call / I want you to call [so.]

In particular,

> したいんですが  
>  _shitai n desu ga_  
>  I would like to do [sth.]
>
> ほしいんですが  
>  _hoshii n desu ga_  
>  I would like to have [sth.]
>
> してほしいんですが  
>  _shite hoshii n desu ga_  
>  I would like you to do [sth.]

* * *

Note that both 〜たい and 〜ほしい express _your own_ desire/wish. According to the
[unwritten rule](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/2538/1628) that you
cannot know the details of a third person's mental state, you should use 〜たがる
and 〜ほしがる instead if you want to talk about the desires/wishes of other
people. For more on this see the following questions:

  * [When to use 欲しがる instead of 欲しい](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/2524/1628)
  * [Can たい and たがる be used for a 1st/2nd/3rd person's desire?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/23860/1628)
  * [Is ～がる suffix limited to specific adjectives only?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/1520/1628)




The 〜たい _-tai_ form attaches to the _masu_ -stem of a **verb** to form "to
want to [verb]", e.g. 食べたい _tabetai_ "to want to eat". The form したい _shitai_
is only the special case of 〜たい attached to する "to do". Even though it
attaches to a verb, the result is an _i_ -adjective (unlike in English).

(が)ほしい comes after a **noun** and means "to want [to have/own] a/the [noun]".
Like practically all words ending in しい, it is an _i_ -adjective as well.

(～て)ほしい may also come after the _te_ -form of a verb and means "to want so. to
do [verb] [for me]", for example 食べてほしい "I want so. to eat [this]".

In general, these constructions are different, but in case the verb is a "
_suru_ -verb" (i.e. of the form [noun]+ _suru_ ) they may appear similar.
However, they usually do mean something different:

> 電話(を)したい  
>  _denwa (wo) shitai_  
>  I want to make a call / I want to call [so.]
>
> 電話がほしい  
>  _denwa ga hoshii_  
>  I want [to own/to have] a phone
>
> 電話(を)してほしい  
>  _denwa (wo) shite hoshii_  
>  I want you to make a call / I want you to call [so.]

In particular,

> したいんですが  
>  _shitai n desu ga_  
>  I would like to do [sth.]
>
> ほしいんですが  
>  _hoshii n desu ga_  
>  I would like to have [sth.]
>
> してほしいんですが  
>  _shite hoshii n desu ga_  
>  I would like you to do [sth.]

* * *

Note that both 〜たい and 〜ほしい express _your own_ desire/wish. According to the
[unwritten rule](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/2538/1628) that you
cannot know the details of a third person's mental state, you should use 〜たがる
and 〜ほしがる instead if you want to talk about the desires/wishes of other
people. For more on this see the following questions:

  * [When to use 欲しがる instead of 欲しい](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/2524/1628)
  * [Can たい and たがる be used for a 1st/2nd/3rd person's desire?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/23860/1628)
  * [Is ～がる suffix limited to specific adjectives only?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/1520/1628)

