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Hope vs Wish

Hope = you expect something possible (I hope you pass — real chance). Wish = you want something unreal or impossible (I wish I were taller — I can't change it).

The one-line answer

Hope = you expect something possible (I hope you pass — real chance). Wish = you want something unreal or impossible (I wish I were taller — I can't change it).

hope

verb

to want something possible to happen — used for real possibilities

  • I hope you feel better soon.
  • We hope to visit Japan next year.
  • I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow.

wish

verb

to want something unreal or different from reality — often with past forms

  • I wish I lived by the sea. (but I don't)
  • I wish I had studied harder. (regret about past)
  • She wishes she could speak French.

Memory trick

Test the possibility: can it actually happen? → hope (I hope you win — you might!). Can't it, or is it a regret? → wish + past tense (I wish I won — but I didn't).

Hope vs Wish: Test yourself

Question 1 of 2

I ___ I had more free time. (I don't)