Expressing "be going to" with "yao"

The auxiliary verb 要 (yào) has several different 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 jīnnián yào xué Zhōngwén.I am planning to learn Chinese this year.
• 我 下 个 月 要 去 中国 工作 。 Wǒ xià gè yuè yào qù Zhōngguó gōngzuò.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 děnghuǐr yào gěi māma dǎ 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 míngtiān 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 zuò kāfēi, nǐ hē ma? I am going to make coffee, do you want to drink some?

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

• 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?

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