How to Say ‘I want you to start.’ in Japanese
始めてほしい。
hajime te hoshii
[hah-jee-MEH te hoh-shee]
💬 Usage Tip: Add ほしい to a verb's て form to say "I want you to ~": 来てほしい "I want you to come".
Phrase Breakdown
始め
hajime
[hah-jee-MEH]
start; begin (stem)
Stem of the transitive verb 'to start', used to begin an activity.
試合を始めます。
We will start the match.
て
te
[te]
te-form ending
Connects actions in sequence, like 'and' or 'then'.
ドアが開いて、入ります。
The door opens, and then I go in.
ほしい
hoshii
[hoh-shee]
want someone to; want
ほしい after a te-form means the speaker wants someone else to do something.
次は決めてほしい。
I want them to score next time.
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