皆さんこんにちは。
ILC国際語学センターです。

John先生のミニレッスン、第5回目は「wish」と「hope」の違いについてです。


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Wish and Hope

The words wish and hope have two slightly different meanings. Many aspects of these words are the same: They can be verbs or nouns, and they generally look to the future for some event to come to be. When should we use wish and when should we use hope?
If you think that there is a likelihood or expectation of the future event coming true, then hope is used. Hoping is more like a reasonable expectation of success for an achievable target, or for an aspiration.
If there is a lower likelihood of the future event coming true, then wish is used. Wishing is more like saying a prayer where divine intervention is needed in a hopeless situation (We do not say “wish-less” situation), or the event happening by a magical event. A wish is also used in an impossible situation such as a regret for a past action.
Some examples will help here:
“I hope I pass the exam next week.” (I have studied very hard and expect to pass.)
“I hope to become a successful business person.” (I went to business school and have started a company.)
“I wish for world peace.” (Spoken by a person who thinks world peace is difficult to achieve.)
“I hope for world peace.” (Spoken by a person who desires world peace and considers it achievable.)
“The man wishes he hadn`t bought that expensive car.” (The man bought the car on impulse and now regrets it.)
Another expression, “to hope against hope”, is to hope for something when you know that it will probably not happen, possibly indicating the time for wishing to begin. When all hope is lost, we begin wishing. For example, “We're hoping against hope that they survived the crash.”
However, a change in the expectation of the hoped-for event leads to a deferred hope: “Hope deferred makes a heart sick” (Bible, Proverbs xiii. 12).
Similarly, for wishing, “Be careful what you wish for because it might come true!” is a common expression that implies that the divine intervention, if attained, may not be beneficial for you.
We often say “I wish you well.” This is like “I pray for your well-being.”, not “I hope you well”. We assume that the future is a little uncertain.
On the other hand, for a more immediate situation such as a telephone call or in an email message, we can say “I hope you are well.”, not “I wish you are well.” This implies that there is a higher expectation of the person being well because you are actually talking to him or her at the moment, and chances are that the person is well.
After looking over these examples, I hope you will be able to use these words effectively, and I wish you well in your communication activities.



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次回は1月下旬に更新予定です。

※John先生が開発したグローバルリーダー向け英語プログラムは、様々なビジネスシチュエーションに特化した英語スキルに焦点をあて、論理性と説得力のある英語力を養成します。
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担当教師

John　Mukts　（ILC企業研修主任）

日本での英語教授歴20年以上、数々の企業にてビジネスパーソンやグローバルリーダー向け英語研修を担当。ILCの主任教師としてプレゼンテーション・ミーティングなどのビジネスに焦点をおいたGLLT（Global Leadership Language Training)コース開発やオリジナルテキスト開発に従事。