1 · Modal verbs
Would like and want: xiǎng and yào
wishes and intentions
Xiǎng is a gentle wish, yào a firm intention or a need — and “don’t want to” is bù xiǎng.
Both stand before a verb: 我想喝茶, “I would like some tea”, 我要喝茶, “I want tea, I’ll have tea”. 想 is the softer one: a wish, “would like to, feel like”. 要 is firmer: something decided, insisted on or needed.
要 has more jobs than “want”. Before a verb it can mean “need to” or “be going to”: 明天我要上班, “I have to work tomorrow”. With a noun it is the ordinary verb for asking for something, and in a shop or a restaurant it is not rude: 我要这个, “I’ll have this one”.
The negative is the trap. 不要 + verb does not mean “don’t want to” but “don’t!”: 不要走, “don’t go”. To say that you don’t want to do something, use 不想: 我不想去, “I don’t want to go”. With a noun, 我不要 is fine — it turns down something offered.
想 can be graded with 很: 我很想去, “I would really like to go”; 要 cannot. And on its own 想 is a full verb meaning “think” or “miss”: 我想你, “I miss you”.
The form
| would like to | 我想喝咖啡。 |
| want to (firm) | 我要喝咖啡。 |
| want + noun | 我要一杯咖啡。 |
| don’t want to | 我不想喝咖啡。 |
| don’t! (a command) | 不要喝咖啡！ |
| question | 你想喝什么？ |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
想 + verb is a wish: would like to, feel like.
周末我想去爬山。I’d like to go walking in the hills at the weekend.
要 + verb is firmer: a decision, an intention, or something that has to be done.
我明天要去医院。I have to go to the hospital tomorrow.
“Don’t want to” is 不想; 不要 + verb is a command, “don’t”.
我今天不想出去。I don’t want to go out today.
想 can take 很 or 特别; 要 cannot.
我很想去中国旅游。I would really like to travel to China.
要 + noun is the normal way to ask for something in a shop or a restaurant.
我要两碗米饭。Two bowls of rice, please.
A closer look
The many jobs of yào
要 covers ground that English splits between several words. With a noun it is “want, ask for”; before a verb it can be “want to”, “intend to”, “need to” or simply “be going to”. 我要去银行 can be any of “I want to go”, “I’m going” or “I need to go to the bank”, and the situation tells you which.
With 了 at the end it announces something about to happen: 要下雨了, “it’s going to rain”. That use has a topic of its own. What all the uses share is direction towards something not yet done, which is why 要 does not take 很.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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a child, or somebody being stubborn, says 我不要 + verb
it does mean “I don’t want to” — a flat, insistent refusal.
我不要睡觉！I don’t want to go to bed!
In this blunt use 不要 keeps the force of a refusal. An adult who simply does not feel like doing something says 不想.
How to spot it
- 想
- 要
- 不想
- 不要
- 想要
Example sentences
你想吃什么？What would you like to eat?
服务员，我们要一壶茶。Excuse me, we’d like a pot of tea.
他说他要学开车。He says he is going to learn to drive.
我有点儿累，不想去了。I’m a bit tired; I don’t feel like going any more.
我想家了。I’m homesick.
不要在这儿抽烟！Don’t smoke here!
7 more example sentences
我想问你一个问题。I’d like to ask you a question.
我妹妹想当医生。My younger sister wants to be a doctor.
这个我不要了。I don’t want this one any more.
下个月我要去上海出差。Next month I’m going on a business trip to Shanghai.
你要咖啡还是茶？Would you like coffee or tea?
晚上我想早点儿睡觉。I’d like to go to bed a bit early tonight.
他一直想买一辆自行车。He has wanted to buy a bicycle for a long time.
Worth knowing (1)
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Xiǎngyào: the polite middle
想要 + noun, “would like to have”, sits between the two: softer than 要 alone, and the usual way to talk about things you wish for — 我想要一个新手机, “I’d like a new phone”.
你生日想要什么礼物？What would you like for your birthday?
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
“I really want to” invites 很 + 要, but 要 is a decision, and a decision has no degrees. A wish does, so a strong wish is 很想.
Xiǎng is would like, yào is will or must; for “don’t want to”, say bù xiǎng.
Your turn
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