wish

CEFRA1

/ˈwɪʃ/

verb · noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To want something to happen or to have something.

  2. 02

    verb

    Extra detail

    An expression of such a desire, often connected with ideas of magic and supernatural power.

Examples

  • I wish I could go to Japan.

  • I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions.

At a glance

Sits at A1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meaning

  1. The thing desired or longed for.

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A desire, hope, or longing for something or for something to happen.

  2. A water meadow.

More examples

In context

  • What famous songs do you wish you had composed, and why?

  • It is my wish that the bequest (should) be given to an almshouse.

  • make someone's wish come true

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

I blank that I could visit my grandmother who lives far away.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

From Middle English wisshen, wischen, wüschen, from Old English wȳsċan (“to wish”), from Proto-West Germanic *wunskijan, from Proto-Germanic *wunskijaną (“to wish”), from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (“to wish, love”). Cognate with Scots wis (“to wish”), Saterland Frisian wonskje (“to wish”), West Frisian winskje (“to wish”), Dutch wensen (“to wish”), German wünschen (“to wish”), Luxembourgish wënschen (“to wish”), Yiddish ווינטשן (vintshn, “to wish”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål ønske (“to wish”), Faroese ynskja (“to wish, to desire”), Icelandic æskja, óska (“to wish”), Norwegian Nynorsk ønskja, ønskje, ønska, ønske, ynskja, ynskje (“to wish, to desire”), Swedish önska (“to wish”). Via PIE...