Breakdown of Das Kind wünscht sich einen Hund.
ein
a, an (eine)
das Kind
the child
der Hund
the dog
sich wünschen
to wish for
Questions & Answers about Das Kind wünscht sich einen Hund.
Why is sich used here when the English translation is just "wishes for"?
In German, the verb sich etwas wünschen is reflexive. You are literally saying that the child wishes a dog for themselves. Without the reflexive pronoun, wünschen usually means wishing something to someone else, like Ich wünsche dir einen guten Tag (I wish you a good day).
Is sich in the accusative or dative case here?
It is in the dative case! Because the dog (einen Hund) is the direct object (accusative), the reflexive pronoun takes the dative case as the indirect object. You cannot tell the difference with sich because it looks the same in both cases, but you would definitely see it with other pronouns, like Ich wünsche mir einen Hund (I wish for a dog).
Why is it einen Hund instead of ein Hund?
Hund is a masculine noun (der Hund), and it is the direct object being wished for in this sentence. Therefore, it must take the accusative case, which changes ein to einen.
Could I translate "wishes for" literally and say wünscht für einen Hund?
No, you should not use für here. The reflexive structure sich etwas wünschen already completely covers the meaning of "wishing for" something. Adding für is a common mistake English speakers make, but it sounds wrong in German.
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