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Japanese vocabulary · Beginner
How do you say "What do you want?" in Japanese?
何が欲しいですか？
nani ga hoshī desu ka ?
In Japanese, "What do you want?" is 何が欲しいですか？ (nani ga hoshī desu ka ?).
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Pronunciation
何が欲しいですか？ is written using kanji. Romanised as nani ga hoshī desu ka ?, it sounds roughly like "nah-nee-gah-hoh-shee-deh-soo-kah" to an English ear.
Writing and usage
Hoshii (欲しい) is an i-adjective meaning to want and applies only to objects or possessions. The particle ga marks the desired thing.
Example sentence
「何が欲しいですか？」は誕生日やクリスマスに聞く質問です。
'Nani ga hoshii desu ka?' wa tanjoubi ya kurisumasu ni kiku shitsumon desu.
'What do you want?' is a question asked at birthdays and Christmas.
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How to remember 何が欲しいですか？
Hoshii looks like a person (欠) reaching out for something desired. The character visually captures the concept of wanting.
Related words
- what is the weather on wednesday? 水曜日の天気は何ですか？ suiyōbi no tenki wa nan desu ka ？
- what is the temperature on tuesday? 火曜日の気温は何度ですか？ kayōbi no kion wa nan dodesu ka ？
- why are you here? なぜここにいるのですか？ naze koko ni iru no desu ka ？
- what is the weather on saturday? 土曜日の天気は何ですか？ doyōbi no tenki wa nan desu ka ？
- where are you from? 出身地はどこですか？ shusshinchi wa doko desu ka ？
- what do you dislike? 何が嫌いですか？ nani ga kirai desu ka ？
- what do you hate? 何が大嫌いですか？ nani ga daikirai desu ka ？
- what is the temperature on friday? 金曜日の気温は何度ですか？ kinyōbi no kion wa nan dodesu ka ？
- what is the temperature? 気温は何度ですか？ kion wa nan dodesu ka ？
Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.
Questions about 何が欲しいですか？
How do you pronounce 何が欲しいですか?
何が欲しいですか？ is romanised as nani ga hoshī desu ka ?. Say it roughly like "nah-nee-gah-hoh-shee-deh-soo-kah" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.
Is 何が欲しいですか formal or casual?
何が欲しいですか？ is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.
How is 何が欲しいですか written in Japanese?
何が欲しいですか？ is written using kanji. Hoshii (欲しい) is an i-adjective meaning to want and applies only to objects or possessions.
Where can I practice Japanese words for free?
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"What do you want?" in other languages
- Korean 무엇을 하고 싶어요? (mueoseul hago sipeoyo?)
- Chinese 你想要什么? (nǐ xiǎng yào shén me ?)
- Spanish ¿Qué quieres?
- Spanish (Latin America) ¿Qué quieres?
- French Qu'est-ce que tu voudrais?
- German Was wünschst du dir?
- Italian Cosa vuoi?
- Russian Что ты хочешь? (čto ty hočešʹ?)
- Greek Τι θες; (ti thes)
- Arabic أنت عايز إيه؟ (inta Aaeyiz 'ieeh)
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