beginner

Desires & Wants

Learn how to express wishes, plans, and physical desires using 想 and 想要 in Chinese.

To express desires and wants in Chinese, we use two main verbs based on whether we want to perform an action or possess an object:

想 (xiǎng) + [Verb]: Means "would like to [do something]".
想要 (xiǎngyào) + [Noun Object]: Means "would like [an object] / want [something]".

我想喝咖啡。

I want to drink coffee.

Practice

Follow along with these examples to strengthen your understanding.

你想喝什麼？

What do you want to drink?

我想喝咖啡。

I want to drink coffee.

你想看書嗎？

Do you want to read a book?

我想看書。

I want to read a book.

你想打網球嗎？

Do you want to play tennis?

我想打網球。

I want to play tennis.

你想要這本書嗎？

Do you want this book?

我想要這本書。

I want this book.

Trace your learning progress and get real-time feedback with interactive exercises.