How to say “want” in Chinese
want; miss, think of
“Want” in Chinese is 想, xiǎng: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
想 is read xiǎng. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
Below, 心 “heart”.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “想”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 想. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 我想喝茶。wǒxiǎnghēcháI'd like some tea.
- 你想喝什么nǐxiǎnghēshénmeWhat do you want to drink?
- 我想吃面条儿wǒxiǎngchīmiàntiáorI'd like some noodles.
- 我想吃一些水果wǒxiǎngchīyìxiēshuǐguǒI'd like to eat some fruit.
- 你想买什么东西？nǐxiǎngmǎishénmedōngxiWhat do you want to buy?
- 我想买两本书wǒxiǎngmǎiliǎngběnshūI want to buy two books.
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “Tea or water?”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “want” in Chinese?
“Want” in Chinese is 想, pinyin xiǎng.
What does 想 mean?
想 (xiǎng) means “want; miss, think of”.
How do you write 想?
想 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 想?
想 is read xiǎng. Tones: xiǎng — third tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“want” in the lesson “Tea or water?”
This word is from the topic “Food and shopping” of HSK 1. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
Start for free