I would like to know how to want someting

[Blackfist]

Can someone help me understand the difference (if any) between 要 and 想.

My understanding is that 想 means that you would like to do something and in some cases it can mean that you think something.

According to Pimsleur, 要 means that you are going to do something I think they mention that it can also mean that you want something. Once the terms are introduced Pimsleur uses 想 when you would like to do something and 要 when you are going to do something.

Michel Thomas, on the other hand, started with 想. Then when 要 was introduced and the speaker explained that it can mean want 想 was never heard from again. So there are a lot of sentences like "I want to go to China" which are translated 我要去中国. Pimsleur would say that means "I am going to China." Big difference between wanting to go to China and actually going.

So what is the deal? When should I use 要 and 想?

[msittig]

The Chinese Grammar Wiki has a little to say on this topic, but doesn't give a complete comparison:

http://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/ASGT97VF

http://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/ASG95AL1

[Ruben von Zwack]

I know this is not 100% accurate, but I find you can work around fairly well like this:

要 yào is a very strong 想 xiǎng.

Compare 要 yào to English "want", and 想 xiǎng to English "wish".

要 yào - I want to go on holiday, do this and that, etc.

The negative form 不要 bù yào (pronounced bú yào -> 4th tone bù Sandhi) has got a special meaning, like, "mate, you don't want to do xy" in other words "DON'T". Talk like this to your friends but not in situations where politeness is required.

And 想 xiǎng to express wishes in a polite manner, hence its further meanings to think, to miss someone (you will come across song lyrics* often where someone 想 xiǎng-s another person). Use it to express a wish in polite situations.

* example:

我真的很想妳 wǒ zhēnde hěn xiǎng nǐ "I truly miss you"

[Pickley]

我想 has more as an inquisitive sense about it. for example 我想看电影, 我要看电影。我要看电影is more certain about the decision. I WANT to watch a movie. 我想看电影 can be interpreted as 'I would like to watch a movie', like not completely decided in the sense but considering it. So in that sense you could say like 我要大便 is more certain about wanting to poop. I need to poop. 我想大便 I would like to poop but i'm not gonna mince all over the floor at any moment.

[skylee]

#3. And for something stronger than 要, try 得 (must/ have to). For something weaker than 想, try 希望 (hope).

[Blackfist]

OK but 我要 can also mean that something is going to happen, right? like I will go to lunch at 3 o'clock. 我要三点钟吃午饭. Is that correct?

[muirm]

我要 can also mean that something is going to happen, right?

快, 就, and 要 can all take on the meaning of "about to ...". I think "我要" can be ambiguous between "I want" and "I'm about to", so I tend to say "我快要..." when I want to say I'm about to do something.

Keep in mind 想's "core" meaning is simply "to think" (e.g. "想办法" to think up a solution, or "我想他不会来" I think he won't come). From there it isn't hard to see how 想's usage can expand into "want to": 我想喝茶 "I'm thinking about drinking tea" which is interpreted as "I would like to drink tea". Similarly, "我想你" is "I'm thinking about you", but is interpreted as "I miss you". That's how I think about it at least.

Of course, it gets even worse when you come across "想要", which also means "to want to". The good news is you don't really have to worry about these kinds of nuances. You pick them up automatically through exposure.

[li3wei1]

我要 can also mean that something is going to happen, right?

I would think of 我要 as "I need to" or "I'm supposed to".

会 (to be able to) can also mean that something is going to happen, as in there's a possibility it might happen.

[Demonic_Duck]

I feel like 我要去中国 means I fully intend to go to China, I may not have booked tickets yet, but unless something unexpected happens I'll definitely be going (much the same as "I will go to China" in English). I think the distinction between "will" and "want to" is less strong than you think, even in English ("I will" originally meant "I want").

[Ruben von Zwack]

OK but 我要 can also mean that something is going to happen, right?

At the risk of admitting what fool I am, this meaning was new to me until now. Of course that is partly due to my still very insufficient Chinese.

But 要 as a future indicator is also not in the Routledge Modern Mandarin grammar. So right now, my impression is that perhaps it's not so obvious that a standard grammar would feature it (while they do feature 会 huì and other future indicators). Of course I could be wrong and I'll be happy to learn better.

I would understand your example sentence as "I want/really want to eat at three (and no, not at 3:30 or 4:00, because else I'll starve)".

@Demonic_Duck, thanks for pointing out out the origin of "will". It's obvious when you think about it, but never occurred to me.

[skylee]

I think context is still important. Consider this situation, a child pleading repeatedly with his mother that he wants to have some cola. First he might say, "媽媽我想喝可樂". Then when his mom ignores / refuses him, he might say that some more, and then he might begin crying and screaming, "我要喝可樂！！" Does that convey full intention of drinking cola (I bet the child fully intends to if he is allowed, haha), or just a stronger expression of the desire?

As to 我要三点钟吃午饭, I would interpret the 要 as must/have to, instead of indicating something is going to happen. It could be that you have made an unusually late lunch appointment with a business contact and are reminding your office that you have to be at lunch at 3PM. If it were 我要現在吃午飯, then it could either be because of an immediate lunch appointment or your hunger. My imagination is quite poor and can't think of other applicable situations.

[Ruben von Zwack]

I have just by accident found this example sentence when I was looking up 寒 hán, cold, and was reminded of this topic:

寒流要来了，大家一定要注意防寒

Hánliú yào lái le，dàjiā yídìng yào zhùyì fánghán！

A cold current is coming, so we must protect ourselves from the cold!

(source: nciku online dictionary)

In the light of what I learnt from this topic, I'm tempted to interpret it as enforcing meaning (like: the cold is certainly coming) rather than time indicator.

Just like the difference of:

明天要下雨。

Tomorrow it will certainly rain.

versus

明天会下雨。

Tomorrow it could rain.

Or am I misled?

[skylee]

#12 is ok. And do explore the very famous song 明天我要嫁給你. It does not mean I strongly want to marry you tomorrow or I fully intend to marry you tomorrow. It means that I am marrying you tomorrow, the wedding is tomorrow, it will happen tomorrow.

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjE4NjA0ODEy.html?x

[tysond]

I know 将 has a similar meaning, any tips on how it fits into the picture. I notice it might be a bit more formal.