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

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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:

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:

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:

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:

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:

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):

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:

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:

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:

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!

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