Expressing "be going to" with "yao"

The auxiliary verb 要 (yào) has a lot of meanings, and here we'll tackle the "be going to" meaning. This can be confusing at first, dealing with the multiple meanings of 要 (yào), but stick with it!

Structure

The idea behind this usage of 要 (yào) is that someone is "planning to" or "going to" or "preparing to" do something. It's not that they just want to, or have to, it's that they fully expect to do it. It's in their plan. Because of the time indication, the following examples show that the subject wants and plans to do the action stated.

Subject + 要 + Verb

Examples

• 我 今 年 要 学 中文 。 Wǒ yào xué Zhōngwén.I am planning to learn Chinese this year.
• 我 下 个 月 要 去 中国 工作 。 Wǒ yào qù Zhōnggúo gōngzùo.I am going to China to work next month.
• 星期天 我 要 去 北京 。 Xīngqītiān wǒ yào qù Běijīng. I am going to Beijing on Sunday.
• 我 等会儿要 给 妈妈 打电话 。 Wǒ yào gěi māma diànhuà. I am going to call my mom in a little bit.
• 不好意思 ， 我 要 出去 一 下 。 Bùhǎoyìsi, wǒ yào chūqù yī xià.Pardon me, I am going out real quick.
• 我 明天 要 买 一 个 iPhone 。 Wǒ yào mǎi yī gè iPhone.I am going to buy an iPhone tomorrow.
• 下班 以后 你 要 去 哪里 ？ Xiàbān yǐhòu nǐ yào qù nǎlǐ? Where are you planning to go after work?
• 我 要 去 吃饭 ， 你 去 吗 ？ Wǒ yào qù chīfàn, nǐ qù ma? I am going to go eat. Do you want to go?
• 我 要 做 咖啡 ， 你 喝 吗 ？ Wǒ yào zùo kāfēi, nǐ hē ma? I am going to make coffee, do you want to drink some?

In the last two examples, although no time period was specified, because the question was out of courtesy, it shows that the speaker was already planning on doing the action. Thus, here 要 (yào) is used to show that the subject is going/planning to do something.

要 and 想

Instead of using 要 (yào) it is also possible to use the word 想 (xiǎng). These two words are both modal verbs and are largely interchangeable, and both generally mean "to want." The only difference worth mentioning is that 要 (yào) is often used when it is something you want to/need to do, and plan to take action on. It can sound a bit more demanding (and less polite). 想 (xiǎng) is often used as an idea of one's mind, that you may or may not take action on. You can think of it as meaning "would like to."

For more about 想 (xiǎng), see "Would like to" with "xiang".

Examples

• 我 要 喝 咖啡 。 (I am going to get my hands on some coffee)Wǒ yào hē kāfēi.I want to drink coffee.
• 我 想 喝 咖啡 。 (I want to drink a cup of coffee, but may or may not act on that)Wǒ xiǎng hē kāfēi.I'd like to drink coffee.
• 你 要 吃 什么 ？ Nǐ yào chī shénme? What do you want to eat?
• 你 想 吃 什么 ？ Nǐ xiǎng chī shénme? What would you like to eat?

See also

• About to happen with "le"
• Wanting to do something with "yao"
• Auxiliary verb "hui" for "will"

Sources and further reading

Books

• 现代汉语八百词（增订本） (p. ) →buy

• Chinese Grammar - Broken down into 100 items - Basic and Intermediate Levels (汉语语法百项讲练 - 初中级)→buy

Dictionaries

• 现代汉语词典（第5版） (p. ) →buy