Xiang 想 vs. Yao 要

[zhangtiejun310]

想：

1.miss 想+nouns

我想你。

我想我的朋友。

raise a question with"吗"or“想不想”——>answeris 想or不想

2.think， equals to “觉得” ；想+sentences

我想你是对的

我想她今天不会来了。

3.want to(but not decide to do) ；想+verbal phrases

我想去吃肯德基（KFC）。

今天晚上我想去酒吧喝酒。

raise a question with"吗"or“想不想”——>answeris 想or不想

要：

1.want sth; 要+nouns

——您要什么？

——我要一斤苹果。

——还要别的吗？

——不用了，谢谢。

raise a question with"吗"or“要不要”——>answeris 要or不要

ask for sth

她向父母要了一百块钱。

我要了那个女孩的手机号码。

2.would like to ，need （usually used in a enquiry question.） 要+verbal phrases

您要喝点什么？/您要吃点什么？

您要去哪儿？

3.wan to(indicates a strong desire to do sth) 要+verbal phrases

我要来中国学习汉语。

那个小孩儿要吃冰激凌。

(indicates planning to do sth) kind of like "gonna""will" ,eapecially when in sentence there is a time noun mentioning the future 要+verbal phrases

我下午要去图书馆。

下个月他要去上海旅行。

4.要……了：sth is going to happen soon,equals to 就要……了 or 快……了；快要……了

要下课了。

下周要考试了。

5.have to,need to(you have to do sth because it is necessary)

如果想学好汉语，一定要努力学习。

下周就要期末考试了，我要好好复习。

6.ask or make someone to do sth，here equals to 让

老师要她介绍一下自己。

他要我明天再打电话给他。

[Shi Tong]

Simplest answer IMO:

想

You want to, but you might not be able to.

要

You're definately doing it.

EX:

If you miss someone you'd say "wo xiang ni" (I miss you> (I miss you, though I wont be able to reach you))

If you want someone you'd say "wo yao ni" (I WANT YOU> (I will probably get you, it's also harder))

If you want to buy some bread:

Imagine you're in the shop saying:

"wo xiang mai", (I want to buy> (but I'm not sure what/ or that I will) you might end the sentance with "ke shi wo zhude tai gui le" (but I think it's too expensive)

"wo yao mai", (I'm in the shop, and I'm asking you for it, get it for me to pay).

Get it?

[Kai13]

你要去书店吗? Are you going to the bookstore？

你想去书店吗？ Do you want to go to the bookstore？

At college I learned that 要 meant "to want" but during my vacations I saw on zhong wen red that it mean "doing x".

Could you explain the diferences?

Thanks.

[anonymoose]

This has been discussed here several times before.

Basically, the meanings overlap to some extent, but 想 implies wanting to do sth, or thinking about doing sth, whereas 要 implies an intention, in other words that you have gone beyond just thinking about doing sth but actually made up your mind to do it. An exact interpretation would rely on the specific situation.

I think the translations for your two sentences are OK. Note, however, that "Are you going to the bookstore？" doesn't mean "Are you (in the process) of going" but rather, "Are you intending to go?"

[chrix]

Merged.