The difference between "tai" and "hoshii" I am studying spoken informal Japanese only. Today I learned the following: •the 'tai ending of verbs is used when the subject wants to do something. •The word "Hoshii" expresses a desire for someone else to do something, or for something to occur. Examples: bokuha sorega tabetai = I want to eat that anataha sorega tabete hoshii = I want you to eat that minasan moshi chigatara naoshite kudasai. hontoni arigatou gozaimasu.