Comparing "yao" and "xiang"

Both 要 (yào) and 想 (xiǎng) can mean "want," but they're used in slightly different ways, such as 想 (xiǎng) meaning "to miss" when followed by a noun, and 要 (yào) also meaning "going to (do something).

Followed by a Noun

Both 要 (yào) and 想 (xiǎng) may be followed by nouns, but their meanings are different, because the meaning of 想 (xiǎng) changes when used this way.

要 as "to want"

Structure

This structure is most often used to buy something, or to order food as a restaurant. It's also to imagine a demanding child using this pattern to get stuff from his parents. This pattern can be rude, but it's not as inherently rude as it may seem when translated directly into English.

Subject + 要 + Noun

Examples

• 我要一个三明治。 (ordering in a restaurant)I want a sandwich.
• 我要一杯水。 (ordering in a restaurant)I want a glass of water.

想 as "to miss"

Pay attention here: unlike "想 + Verb," the meaning of 想 in the "想 + Noun" pattern becomes "to miss."

Structure

Subject + 想 + Noun

Examples

• 我想 妈妈。I miss mommy.
• 我想 我 的 小 狗。 I miss my little dog.
• 我想 你。 I miss you.

Followed by a Verb

Both 要 (yào) and 想 (xiǎng) may be followed by verbs with similar meanings. The difference between the two is rather subtle, but 要 (yào) can sound more urgent or demanding (sometimes even childish), while 想 (xiǎng) is usually a bit more mature and polite. Tone of voice plays a big role here as well, though, so don't be afraid of offending people by using 要 (yào); the word itself isn't rude.

要 as "want to"

Structure

It might help to think of 要 (yào) in this sense as meaning "want to" and 想 (xiǎng) as meaning "would like to."

Subject + 要 + Verb

Examples

• 我要 去。 I want to go.
• 我要 去，我要 去！！ I wanna go! I wanna go!
• 我要 吃三明治。 I want to eat a sandwich.
• 我要 喝果汁。 I want to drink juice.
• 我要 买水果。 I want to buy fruit.
• 我要 ，我要 ！！ I want it! I want it!

想 as "would like to"

Structure

It might help to think of 想 (xiǎng) as meaning "would like to" instead of "want to."

Subject + 想 + Verb

Examples

• 我想 去。 I'd like to go.
• 我想 见 她 。 I'd like to see her.
• 我想 喝果汁。 I'd like to drink juice.
• 我想 买水果。 I'd like to buy fruit.
• 我想 吃三明治。 I'd like to eat a sandwich.

要 as "going to"

要 is used to indicate plans for the near future, much like "going to" in English. 想 (xiǎng) is not used in this way.

Structure

Subject + 要 + Verb

Examples

• 星期六 我 要 去 北京。 I'm going to Beijing on Saturday.
• 今年 我 要 学 中文。 This year I'm going to learn Chinese.
• 下班 以后 ， 我们 要 去 KTV。 After getting off work, we're going to go to karaoke.

想要 as "want"

You can put 要 (yào) and 想 (xiǎng) together to make the word 想要 (xiǎngyào), which means "to want." You can put either nouns or verbs after it.

Subject + 想要 + Verb

• 我想要 吃三明治。 I want to eat a sandwich.
• 我想要 喝果汁。 I want to drink juice.
• 我想要 买水果。 I want to buy fruit.

Dialog

• A: 你 要 什么？ What do you want?
• B: 我 要 一 杯 红茶。 I want a cup of black tea.
• B: 我 还 想要 一杯 牛奶。 I also want a glass of milk.
• A: 你 想 家 吗？ Are you homesick?
• B: 我 想 家。我 很 想 我 爸妈。 Yeah, I'm homesick. I really miss my parents.
• B: 你 想 回去 吗？ Would you like to go back?
• A: 我 想 回去。下 个 月 我 要 回家。 Yeah, I would. I'm going back next month.

See also

• Wanting to do something with yao
• "Would like to" with xiang
• Auxiliary verb "yao" and its multiple meanings
• Negative commands with "bu yao"
• Expressing determination with "feiyao"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 154-5) →buy