Writing
想 (xiǎng) — how to say "to want" in Chinese
想
To want, to think, to miss
modal verb
How to use it
Goes before another verb.
我想喝茶。
wǒ xiǎng hē chá
I want to drink tea.
Radicals / Keys
心
Heart
#61 · xīn · 4 strokes
Collocations
想家
xiǎng jiā
to miss home
想妈妈
xiǎng māma
to miss mom
Examples
我想去北京看电影，你想去吗？
I want to go to Beijing to watch a movie, do you want to go?
我想去
I want to go.
Mnemonic
[xiǎng-] Sean the Sheep is staring at the night sky 想, wanting to touch the stars 🌟. He misses his old pasture and thinks about his adventures under the same sky. Sean even imagines drawing a map of the stars to never lose his way home again.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say "to want" in Chinese?
"to want" in Chinese is 想 (xiǎng).
Xiang meaning in Chinese
想 (xiǎng) means "To want, to think, to miss".
How is 想 pronounced?
It is pronounced xiǎng (written as xiang). You can listen to the pronunciation on this page.
How do you write "to want" in Chinese characters?
It is written 想 and has 13 strokes. The Writing section above animates the stroke order and lets you trace it.
What HSK level is 想?
想 belongs to the HSK 1 vocabulary list.
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Grammar with 想
想 — wanting to, “I want”
想 (xiǎng) + Verb
去 — going to a place
去 (qù) + Place
想 — as one likes
想 (xiǎng) + Verb Phrase with Question Word + 就 (jiù) + Same Verb Phrase
跟 — with, together with
跟 (gēn)⋯⋯ + Verb
什么 — something/somewhere/sometime
Question word in the position of an indefinite object / place / time
为…而… — purpose with 为…而…
为 (wèi) + Purpose + 而 (ér) + Action