想 and 要

china4me
 October 07, 2008, 03:10 PM posted in General Discussion

Hi! I'm a little confused about when to use 要 and when to use 想.

Are they interchangeable?  When do you use which one?

Thanks!


 

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huibert
 October 07, 2008, 07:01 PM

要 expresses a clear intention to do something; it is very close to 'I WILL do it' or 'I AM GOING TO' do something. The word can also be used for telling what is to happen soon, in combination with 了 which indicates a change, often with 快 that tells us it will be soon: 快要毕业了: is going to graduate.

要 can also express necessity: you must do something, have to do it.

想 is more about feeling, less about thinking. It can also mean 'to miss', 我想你. You can use 想 when you tell people that you really feel like doing something, whereas you use 要 to indicate an intention of actually doing it.

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china4me
 October 09, 2008, 01:38 AM

That makes sense! Thanks!