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Wish vs You - What's the difference?

wish | you |

In transitive terms the difference between wish and you

is that wish is to recommend; to seek confidence or favour on behalf of while you is to address (a person) using the pronoun you, rather than thou.

As a noun wish

is a desire, hope, or longing for something or for something to happen.

As a pronoun you is

the people spoken, or written to, as an object.

As a determiner you is

the individual or group spoken or written to.

wish

English

Noun

(es)
  • a desire, hope, or longing for something or for something to happen
  • an expression of such a desire etc.
  • the process of expressing or thinking about such a desire etc. (often connected with ideas of magic and supernatural power(s)
  • the thing desired or longed for
  • Your dearest wish will come true.
  • * 1901 , , (w, The Monkey's Paw)
  • "I suppose all old soldiers are the same," said Mrs White. "The idea of our listening to such nonsense! How could wishes be granted in these days? And if they could, how could two hundred pounds hurt you, father?" / "Might drop on his head from the sky," said the frivolous Herbert.
  • (Sussex) a water meadow.
  • Usage notes

    * Collocates with make for the common expression make a wish . See

    Derived terms

    (Terms derived from the noun "wish") * death wish * best wishes * good wishes * make a wish * wishbone * wishful * wish list/wishlist/wish-list * your wish is my command

    See also

    * precatory * velleity

    Verb

    (es)
  • (label) To desire; to want.
  • * (William Shakespeare)
  • I would not wish / Any companion in the world but you.
  • *
  • , passage=Yesterday, upon the stair / I met a man who wasn’t there / He wasn’t there again today / I wish', I ' wish he’d go away …}}
  • To hope (for a particular outcome).
  • * (John Arbuthnot) (1667-1735)
  • This is as good an argument as an antiquary could wish for.
  • * 1901 , , (w, The Monkey's Paw)
  • Mr. White took the paw from his pocket and eyed it dubiously. "I don't know what to wish for, and that's a fact," he said slowly. "It seems to me I've got all I want."
  • To bestow (a thought or gesture) towards (someone or something).
  • * (William Shakespeare)
  • I would not wish them to a fairer death.
  • * Bible, (Psalms) xl. 14
  • Let them be driven backward, and put to shame, that wish me evil.
  • To request or desire to do an activity.
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author=(Henry Petroski)
  • , title= Geothermal Energy , volume=101, issue=4, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Energy has seldom been found where we need it when we want it. Ancient nomads, wishing to ward off the evening chill and enjoy a meal around a campfire, had to collect wood and then spend time and effort coaxing the heat of friction out from between sticks to kindle a flame. With more settled people, animals were harnessed to capstans or caged in treadmills to turn grist into meal.}}
  • (label) To recommend; to seek confidence or favour on behalf of.
  • * (Ben Jonson)
  • I was wished to your worship by a gentleman.

    Usage notes

    * In sense 3, this is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive . See

    Derived terms

    (Terms derived from the verb "wish") * as you wish * half wish * I wish * unwish * well-wisher * wisher * you wish

    you

    English

    Alternative forms

    * ye * ya, yah, yer, yeh, y', yo, yu (informal or eye dialect) * -cha * -ja * u * yoo (eye dialect) * yew * youe, yow, yowe (obsolete)

    Pronoun

  • (object pronoun) The people spoken, or written to, as an object.
  • * 1611 , Bible , Authorized (King James) Version. Genesis XLII:
  • And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you , saying, Ye are spies [...].
  • * (William Shakespeare), Richard III :
  • If I may counsaile you, some day or two / Your Highnesse shall repose you at the Tower [...].
  • * 1611 , Bible , Authorized (King James) Version. Genesis XIX:
  • And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city.
  • * 1975 , Joseph Nazel, Death for Hire :
  • You'd better get you a gun and kill him before he kills you or somebody.
  • (object pronoun) The person spoken to or written to, as an object. (Replacing thee; originally as a mark of respect.)
  • * (Thomas Malory), Le Morte Darthur , Book VIII:
  • I charge you , as ye woll have my love, that ye warne your kynnesmen that ye woll beare that day the slyve of golde uppon your helmet.
  • (subject pronoun) The people spoken to or written to, as a subject. (Replacing ye.)
  • Both of you should get ready now.
    You are all supposed to do as I tell you.
  • (subject pronoun) The person spoken to or written to, as a subject. (Originally as a mark of respect.)
  • * (Geoffrey Chaucer), "The Clerk's Tale", Canterbury Tales , Ellesmere manuscript (c. 1410):
  • certes lord / so wel vs liketh yow / And al youre werk / and euere han doon / þat we / Ne koude nat vs self deuysen how / We myghte lyuen / in moore felicitee [...].
  • * 1814 , (Jane Austen), Mansfield Park :
  • You' are right, Fanny, to protest against such an office, but ' you need not be afraid.
  • (indefinite personal pronoun) Anyone, one; an unspecified individual or group of individuals (as subject or object).
  • * 2001 , Polly Vernon, The Guardian , 5 May 2001:
  • You' can't choose your family, your lovers are difficult and volatile, but, oh, ' you can choose your friends - so doesn't it make much more sense to live and holiday with them instead?

    Usage notes

    * Originally, , respectively.) * In some forms of English, are all but nonexistent. * Although , or youse (though not all of these are completely equivalent or considered Standard English). * The pronoun is usually omitted in imperative sentences, but need not be. In affirmative imperatives, it may be included before the verb (You go right ahead''; ''You stay out of it''); in negative imperatives, it may be included either before the ''don't'', or, more commonly, after it (''Don't you dare go in there''; ''Don't you start now ). * See for other personal pronouns.

    Synonyms

    * *: thou *: ye *: yer (UK eye dialect) * *: all of you (plural) *: you all *: you + number *: ye *: yous/youse *: y'all, all y'all (Southern US) *: ya'll (AAVE) *: you-uns (Midwestern US and Appalachia) *: yinz *: you guys/you gals *: you lot (UK) *: allyou (Caribbean) *: yer (UK eye dialect) * , ye, to you, to thee, to ye * ye, to you, to ye, to you all * (one) one, people, they, them

    Derived terms

    * you're

    Determiner

    (en determiner)
  • The individual or group spoken or written to.
  • Have you gentlemen come to see the lady who fell backwards off a bus?
  • Used before epithets for emphasis.
  • You idiot!

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To address (a person) using the pronoun you'', rather than ''thou .