The Word Wish and Subjunctive Mood Subjunctive mood is often used to express a wish or suggestion which is impossible or unlikely to happen. The word wish is often used this way. I wish I were you. In this case, the wish will never happen, and it just sounds like dreaming. I wish the sun went around the earth. Obviously, it goes against the law of nature. I wish I hadn't told you the truth. Your wish is good, but it also disobeys the nature law because you can’t get back in time, at least till now. On the other hand, have a look at this example: I wish I would win the lottery. It's probably not to happen, but even though it seems impossible, if you are lucky enough, you can earn a fortune this way. Of this meaning, wish also can be used shortly like these below: I wish him alive. In truth, he is dead. I wish myself happy every day like you. Of course, actually, you are sad. Unfortunately, both words wish and hope in Chinese were translated simply as the same word "希望" in most English-Chinese dictionaries, which is vague and not correct to express the accurate meaning of wish in these cases above. Here, wish means exactly "但愿" or "真希望" in Chinese，rather than "希望". Owning to the ambiguous translation, a great many students misuse these both words wish and hope. So I would like to say I wish everyone would use the word wish correctly instead of hoping. Furthermore, wish can refer to the same meaning of hope as well. When it is used for this meaning, the object can't be a that-clause. Compare: I hope you (will) have a safe journey. I wish you a safe journey. One language never equals to another one. Sometimes finding a word in one language, which is able to represent the total and exact meaning of another word in another language is pretty hard. Besides, languages are rooted deeply in their corresponding cultures, lot of concepts and thoughts in one culture can't be found in another. So, some words naturally do not exist in one language to express those ideas in another. When it comes to a translator who is trying to hit the nail on the head in translation, it just seems like a good wish.