Which いる?

[Foniks]

Hi!

My wife who is a native japanese speaker, said to me "これいる？" - which she translated as "do you want this?" (holding a plate). I cant work out what kanji would be used in this context? Any ideas? She suggested the word meant "to possess" not "to exist" - but my dictionary didnt appear to have the kanji she expected...

Cheers!

F

[Jessi]

The correct kanji would be 要る (although the kanji is not usually used). This 要る literally means "to need", but is used a lot in situations where we might use "want" in English. If you use it for an object like your wife did, it could mean "do you want this?" as in "do you have any need for this?". It's also used when offering food to someone, in which case "do you want (some)?" would be most natural.
I hope that helps