하고 싶다 vs. 하고 싶어하다

 

하고 싶다 and 하고 싶어하다 both mean 'want' in English. However, in Korean, the difference between these two depends on the perspective of who wants to do something.

하고 싶다 is used when the speaker expresses their own desire or wants directly. It means "I want to do..." so it can be used when subject is ‘I’

Ex) 나는 피자를 먹고 싶다" = I want to eat pizza.

 ( ‘나는 피자를 먹고 싶어하다’ is wrong sentence)

 

But 하고 싶어하다 is used to describe the desire of a third person or someone else.

Ex) 그는 피자를 먹고 싶어한다 = He wants to eat pizza. 

( 그는 피자를 먹고 싶다 is wrong sentence)

동생은 생일 선물로 휴대폰을 받고 싶어해요 = My sister wants to get a phone for her birthday present