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> 心がいつも美しくありたいです
>
> I want my heart to always be beautiful.
>
> 心がいつも美しくして欲しいです (Incorrect)
>
> 心がいつも美しくなりたいです
>
> I want my heart to always be beautiful.(?)

My Japanese friend wrote the first sentence, while I wrote it over attempting
to use 欲しい instead. I am unfamiliar with this use of ある, and have a few
questions about it.

Is it derived from the same "existence" verb, ある -- 在る ?

My other question is how personal is the nuance when expressing a wish or
desire, compared to 欲しい? If the second version that I wrote with 欲しい is
acceptable, how do the two sentences differ in tone, politeness, meaning and
expression?

I am wondering if ありたい expresses a more, or less personal desire than 欲しい.

Furthermore, can one rewrite the original sentence using another verb, while
retaining the same meaning? Lastly, is my translation correct? Or should it
read "I want my heart to always be beautiful."? I had thought that the
original sentence corresponded to something like "I always want the person on
the inside to be beautiful (just like how I am on the outside)," but maybe I
am wrong. Thank you.
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2012-02-28T18:10:20.097
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2012-02-29T02:23:28.257
2012-02-29T02:23:28.257
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words
Questions about ありたい
I hear ありたい used when it is more of a long term desire:

> i.e. "I want to be a kind person."

I hear ほしい used when it is more of a short term desire:

> i.e. "I want an ice cream cone."

Edit:

As far as your question goes about how the two sentences differ, I still think
that you'd want to use ありたい for something that is more of a long term desire
(i.e. something one wants to become.) Otherwise, it sounds (to me, at least,)
that you only want to be beautiful on the inside... but just for the moment.

Edit Two:

For double-checking your translation, we could try breaking up the sentence
like this:

> 心がいつも美しくありたいです ↓  
>  
>  ありたいです (want to be)  
>  
>  美しくありたいです (want to be beautiful)  
>  
>  いつも美しくありたいです (want to be always beautiful)  
>  
>  心がいつも美しくありたいです (Would that my heart be always beautiful.)
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2012-02-28T18:25:06.833
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2012-02-28T22:25:35.280
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* `たい` is used when the expected change is on the subject or it is about the subject's action.

> お菓子を食べたい  
>  'I want to eat some/the snack.'

  * `ほしい` is used when it is about something other than the subject.

> お菓子を食べてほしい  
>  'I want someone to eat some/the snack.'

Your second sentence is ungrammatical because `心` is the object. It should be:

> 心をいつも美しくして欲しいです

But this sentence cannot be interpreted as describing your own mind. It has to
mean the mind of someone else. The same thing can be said about your third
sentence.

A possible rewrite of the first example is:

> 心がいつも美しくなりたいです
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2012-02-28T18:47:56.950
4851
2012-02-28T18:55:29.653
2012-02-28T18:55:29.653
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