The difference between 想 (xiǎng), 要 (yào) and 想要 (xiǎngyào) in Chinese grammar

The difference between 想 (xiǎng), 要 (yào) and 想要 (xiǎngyào) in Chinese grammar

1700 words

(~ 24 minutes)

The Chinese words 想 (xiǎng), 要 (yào) and 想要 (xiǎngyào) can seem very

similar, which makes them difficult to use properly. They do have distinct

meanings and uses though, which we’ll try to clear up here.

想: would like to, to think, to think of

想, 要 and 想要 can all mean ‘want’ in some sense, but 想 is the least forceful

of the three. We think a good way to get to grips with 想 is to bear in mind

the various different things it can express. We’ll look at the main ones here.

Try to link them together into a coherent whole and you should have a better

feeling for what exactly 想 expresses.

As always, remember that the best way to get a real feel for the language (语感)

is to expose yourself to it as much as possible, and to practice using it as

much as possible. Explanations like this can give you a head start, but you’ve

still got to get out there and let your brain’s language module do its work!

想 + verb as ‘would like to’

In many cases, it might be better to think of 想 as being more like ‘would like

to’ rather than ‘want’. When used for expressing wants, 想 can only be

followed by a verb or verb phrase. In other words, 想 only means

‘want’ when it’s an auxiliary verb.

If you use 想 directly with a noun, it means something a bit different (see

below). Remembering this little detail should make it easier to get a sense of

its exact meaning.

Have a look at some example sentences:

我(Wǒ)想(xiǎng)去(qù)巴(Bā)黎(lí)。

Wǒ xiǎng qù Bālí.

I'd like to go to Paris.

ㄨㄛˇ ㄒㄧㄤˇ ㄑㄩˋ ㄅㄚ ㄌㄧˊ。

我(Wǒ)想(xiǎng)吃(chī)鲁(Lǔ)菜(cài)。

Wǒ xiǎng chī Lǔcài.

I'd like to eat some Shandong food.

我想吃魯菜。

ㄨㄛˇ ㄒㄧㄤˇ ㄔ ㄌㄨˇ ㄘㄞˋ。

我(Wǒ)不(bù)想(xiǎng)见(jiàn)她(tā)。

Wǒ bùxiǎng jiàn tā.

I don't want to see her.

我不想見她。

ㄨㄛˇ ㄅㄨˋ ㄒㄧㄤˇ ㄐㄧㄢˋ ㄊㄚ。

我(Wǒ)不(bú)太(tài)想(xiǎng)喝(hē)可(kě)乐(lè)。

Wǒ bú tài xiǎng hē kělè.

I don't really want to drink coke.

我不太想喝可樂。

ㄨㄛˇ ㄅㄨˊ ㄊㄞˋ ㄒㄧㄤˇ ㄏㄜ ㄎㄜˇ ㄌㄜˋ。

Notice in each example 想 is followed by a verb. Also look at how 想 does mean

‘want’ in these situations, but it’s not very forceful. If a speaker wants to

be very clear and emphatic in expressing ‘want’, they’re more likely to use the

much more forceful 要.

Because of the difference in how forceful they are, 想 can often be a more

polite substitute for 要. For example, when ordering or requesting something,

saying 想 is usually more polite than saying 要.

Another feature of 想 is that it can be paired with 很 or 好 to mean ‘really

would like to’ or ‘really want to’. Have a look at some examples:

我(Wǒ)们(men)很(hěn)想(xiǎng)知(zhī)道(dào)！

Wǒmen hěn xiǎng zhīdào!

We really want to know!

我們很想知道！

ㄨㄛˇ ˙ㄇㄣ ㄏㄣˇ ㄒㄧㄤˇ ㄓ ㄉㄠˋ！

我(Wǒ)好(hǎo)想(xiǎng)告(gào)诉(su)你(nǐ)！

Wǒ hǎo xiǎng gàosu nǐ!

I'd really like to tell you!

我好想告訴你！

ㄨㄛˇ ㄏㄠˇ ㄒㄧㄤˇ ㄍㄠˋ ˙ㄙㄨ ㄋㄧˇ！

我(Wǒ)好(hǎo)想(xiǎng)再(zài)去(qù)那(nà)里(li)一(yí)次(cì)。

Wǒ hǎo xiǎng zài qù nàli yícì.

I'd really like to go back there.

我好想再去那裡一次。

ㄨㄛˇ ㄏㄠˇ ㄒㄧㄤˇ ㄗㄞˋ ㄑㄩˋ ㄋㄚˋ ˙ㄌㄧ ㄧˊ ㄘˋ。

Have you spotted the overall theme of 想 as an auxiliary verb? It expresses

’to want to’ or ‘would like to’, but only hypothetically. The

speaker is not confirming whether or not they are actually going to do or

achieve the thing. By using 想, they only express their desire, but they don’t

specify their actual intention. They may or may not actually do or

achieve the thing.

Have a look at a couple more examples that illustrate this point:

他(Tā)很(hěn)想(xiǎng)回(huí)家(jiā)，可(kě)是(shì)最(zuì)后(hòu)他(tā)没(méi)有(yǒu)。

Tā hěn xiǎng huíjiā, kěshì zuìhòu tā méiyǒu.

He really wanted to go home, but in the end he didn't.

他很想回家，可是最後他沒有。

ㄊㄚ ㄏㄣˇ ㄒㄧㄤˇ ㄏㄨㄟˊ ㄐㄧㄚ，ㄎㄜˇ ㄕˋ ㄗㄨㄟˋ ㄏㄡˋ ㄊㄚ ㄇㄟˊ ㄧㄡˇ。

她(Tā)很(hěn)想(xiǎng)买(mǎi)辆(liàng)自(zì)行(xíng)车(chē)，所(suǒ)以(yǐ)就(jiù)买(mǎi)了(le)。

Tā hěn xiǎng mǎi liàng zìxíngchē, suǒyǐ jiù mǎile.

She really wanted to buy a bike, so she did.

她很想買輛自行車，所以就買了。

ㄊㄚ ㄏㄣˇ ㄒㄧㄤˇ ㄇㄞˇ ㄌㄧㄤˋ ㄗˋ ㄒㄧㄥˊ ㄔㄜ，ㄙㄨㄛˇ ㄧˇ ㄐㄧㄡˋ ㄇㄞˇ ˙ㄌㄜ。

As you can see, simply expressing the want with 想 isn’t enough to confirm what

happened in the end or what the actual intention was. The second part of the

sentence makes sense, because it describes what happened, whereas the first part

with 想 only describes what someone felt like doing.

Finally, here’s a sentence with some slightly higher-level vocab, if you’re into

that sort of thing:

那(Nà)天(tiān)我(wǒ)很(hěn)想(xiǎng)放(fàng)弃(qì)，可(kě)是(shì)我(wǒ)还(hái)是(shi)坚(jiān)持(chí)下(xià)去(qù)了(le)。

Nàtiān wǒ hěn xiǎng fàngqì, kěshì wǒ háishi jiānchíxiàqù le.

That day I really wanted to give up, but I still persevered.

那天我很想放棄，可是我還是堅持下去了。

ㄋㄚˋ ㄊㄧㄢ ㄨㄛˇ ㄏㄣˇ ㄒㄧㄤˇ ㄈㄤˋ ㄑㄧˋ，ㄎㄜˇ ㄕˋ ㄨㄛˇ ㄏㄞˊ ˙ㄕ ㄐㄧㄢ ㄔˊ ㄒㄧㄚˋ ㄑㄩˋ ˙ㄌㄜ。

Looking at all the example sentences here should give you a better feel for how 想 just talks about desires and feelings, but not concrete intentions or actions.

想 as ’to think’

To get a better sense of what kind of ‘want’ is expressed with 想, it might help

to consider some of the other meanings of 想. Firstly, 想 can mean ’to think’,

either as ’to believe’ or ’to consider’. Have a look at some example sentences:

我(Wǒ)想(xiǎng)你(nǐ)没(méi)去(qù)过(guò)吧(ba)？

Wǒ xiǎng nǐ méi qùguò ba?

I think you haven't been before, right?

我想你沒去過吧？

ㄨㄛˇ ㄒㄧㄤˇ ㄋㄧˇ ㄇㄟˊ ㄑㄩˋ ㄍㄨㄛˋ ˙ㄅㄚ？

我(Wǒ)想(xiǎng)他(tā)应(yīng)该(gāi)不(bù)知(zhī)道(dào)。

Wǒ xiǎng tā yīnggāi bù zhīdào.

I think he probably doesn't know.

我想他應該不知道。

ㄨㄛˇ ㄒㄧㄤˇ ㄊㄚ ㄧㄥ ㄍㄞ ㄅㄨˋ ㄓ ㄉㄠˋ。

我(Wǒ)想(xiǎng)错(cuò)了(le)。

Wǒ xiǎng cuòle.

I was mistaken.

→ What I thought was wrong.

我想錯了。

ㄨㄛˇ ㄒㄧㄤˇ ㄘㄨㄛˋ ˙ㄌㄜ。

你(Nǐ)想(xiǎng)多(duō)了(le)！

Nǐ xiǎng duō le!

You thought too much!

→ You over-thought things, or presumed too much.

ㄋㄧˇ ㄒㄧㄤˇ ㄉㄨㄛ ˙ㄌㄜ！

我想一想……

wǒ xiǎng yì xiǎng……

Let me think....

You might be wondering why we’re giving you all these examples for a different

meaning of 想 in an article about 想 meaning ‘want’. The reason is that by

considering other meanings of 想 besides ‘want’, you can get a better sense of

how exactly it means ‘want’. I.e., it’s a ‘want’ that’s got its roots in ’to

think about’ and ’to consider’.

想 as ’to think of’ and ’to miss’

Finally, it’s worth looking at another meaning of 想. This is 想 as in 想念: ’to

think of’ or ’to miss’. Hopefully you can see how these different meanings of 想

can all be linked together. You might be able to get a sense of some basic

concept that lies behind all three meanings.

Have a look at some examples (cue sad violin music):

我(Wǒ)想(xiǎng)你(nǐ)。

Wǒ xiǎng nǐ.

I miss you.

ㄨㄛˇ ㄒㄧㄤˇ ㄋㄧˇ。

我(Wǒ)们(men)都(dōu)想(xiǎng)你(nǐ)。

Wǒmen dōu xiǎng nǐ.

We're all thinking of you.

我們都想你。

ㄨㄛˇ ˙ㄇㄣ ㄉㄡ ㄒㄧㄤˇ ㄋㄧˇ。

我(Wǒ)很(hěn)想(xiǎng)念(niàn)她(tā)。

Wǒ hěn xiǎngniàn tā.

I really miss her.

ㄨㄛˇ ㄏㄣˇ ㄒㄧㄤˇ ㄋㄧㄢˋ ㄊㄚ。

We mentioned above that if you use 想 directly with a noun, it means something a

little different. The example sentences above demonstrate that. When used with a

noun, 想 means ’to miss’ or ’to think of’, and not so much ’to want’ (although

you can see how the meanings are closely related).

要: to want, to be going to

Now we’re on to the second ‘want’ verb: 要. Let’s first look at using 要 as an

auxiliary verb (i.e. when it’s followed by another verb) The main points to

remember about 要 + verb are that it either:

Expresses ’to want’ or ’to need’ quite emphatically;

Expresses a definite intention;

Expresses a future action.

As you can see it’s stronger and much more direct than 想. Have a look at some

examples:

我(Wǒ)要(yào)去(qù)巴(Bā)黎(lí)。

Wǒ yào qù Bālí.

I'm going to Paris.

I want to go to Paris.

ㄨㄛˇ ㄧㄠˋ ㄑㄩˋ ㄅㄚ ㄌㄧˊ。

我(Wǒ)要(yào)喝(hē)水(shuǐ)。

Wǒ yào hēshuǐ.

I'm going to drink water.

I want to drink water.

ㄨㄛˇ ㄧㄠˋ ㄏㄜ ㄕㄨㄟˇ。

她(Tā)要(yào)过(guò)来(lái)。

Tā yào guòlái.

She's going to come over here.

She wants to come over here.

她要過來。

ㄊㄚ ㄧㄠˋ ㄍㄨㄛˋ ㄌㄞˊ。

As you can see, 要 is pretty to-the-point. It would be wrong to think that 要 is

actually ‘forceful’, though. It’s commonly used when ordering things, and isn’t

necessarily impolite. To order something with 要, you might use it with a verb

(as in 我要喝水, above), or with a noun:

我(Wǒ)要(yào)一(yí)份(fèn)扬(Yáng)州(zhōu)炒(chǎo)饭(fàn)。

Wǒ yào yífèn Yángzhōuchǎofàn.

I'll have a portion of Yangzhou fried rice.

我要一份揚州炒飯。

ㄨㄛˇ ㄧㄠˋ ㄧˊ ㄈㄣˋ ㄧㄤˊ ㄓㄡ ㄔㄠˇ ㄈㄢˋ。

我(Wǒ)要(yào)喝(hē)王(Wáng)老(lǎo)吉(jí)。

Wǒ yào hē Wánglǎojí.

I'll have Wanglaoji.

ㄨㄛˇ ㄧㄠˋ ㄏㄜ ㄨㄤˊ ㄌㄠˇ ㄐㄧˊ。

Ordering in this way is neither polite nor impolite in itself; it’s just direct

and matter-of-fact. You will often hear people order in this way, and no-one

minds so long as they say it nicely.

It might be helpful to compare 要 to ‘will’ in English. Originally ‘will’ did

mean ’to want’, but it’s come to just express future actions or intentions. This

is quite similar to how 要 is used in Chinese.

想要: to desire, to want

The verb 想要 is the trickiest of the three, because it has quite a broad range

of intensity. It can range from expressing a simple want or request, to a strong

desire for something, to sexual desire. Which one the speaker means will be

clear in the context (hopefully!). 想要 is commonly used in standard requests

for things (one context), but is also a common way to express sexual desire (a

very different context).

Have a look at some examples:

我(Wǒ)想(xiǎng)要(yào)些(xiē)苹(píng)果(guǒ)。

Wǒ xiǎngyào xiē píngguǒ.

I want some apples.

[probably said at a shop]

我想要些蘋果。

ㄨㄛˇ ㄒㄧㄤˇ ㄧㄠˋ ㄒㄧㄝ ㄆㄧㄥˊ ㄍㄨㄛˇ。

我(Wǒ)想(xiǎng)要(yào)预(yù)约(yuē)在(zài)今(jīn)天(tiān)下(xià)午(wǔ)5(wǔ)点(diǎn)。

Wǒ xiǎngyào yùyuē zài jīntiān xiàwǔ wǔ diǎn.

I'd like to make an appointment for today at 5pm.

我想要預約在今天下午5點。

ㄨㄛˇ ㄒㄧㄤˇ ㄧㄠˋ ㄩˋ ㄩㄝ ㄗㄞˋ ㄐㄧㄣ ㄊㄧㄢ ㄒㄧㄚˋ ㄨˇ ㄨˇ ㄉㄧㄢˇ。

我(Wǒ)想(xiǎng)要(yào)看(kàn)一(yí)看(kàn)尼(Ní)亚(yà)加(jiā)拉(lā)瀑(pù)布(bù)。

Wǒ xiǎngyào kànyíkàn Níyàjiālāpùbù.

I really want to see Niagara Falls.

我想要看一看尼亞加拉瀑布。

ㄨㄛˇ ㄒㄧㄤˇ ㄧㄠˋ ㄎㄢˋ ㄧˊ ㄎㄢˋ ㄋㄧˊ ㄧㄚˋ ㄐㄧㄚ ㄌㄚ ㄆㄨˋ ㄅㄨˋ。

我(Wǒ)想(xiǎng)要(yào)你(nǐ)。

Wǒ xiǎngyào nǐ.

I want you.

[sexually]

ㄨㄛˇ ㄒㄧㄤˇ ㄧㄠˋ ㄋㄧˇ。

我(Wǒ)很(hěn)想(xiǎng)要(yào)。

Wǒ hěn xiǎngyào.

I'm really horny.

I really want to.

ㄨㄛˇ ㄏㄣˇ ㄒㄧㄤˇ ㄧㄠˋ。

As you can see, you’ve got to be pretty sure the context is clear when using

想要. Don’t be afraid of shopkeepers and receptionists misconstruing your

requests, though - it’s perfectly clear in the context what you mean!

More B2 articles

The difference between 拿 (ná) and 带 (dài) in Chinese grammar

B2

Chinese direction complements: Basic verbal directions with 来 (lái) and 去 (qù)

B2

Three uses of 才 (cái) in Chinese grammar: only, just now / not until, emphasis

B2

See all B2 articles