\u60f3 – xi\u01ceng<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
\u8981 – y\u00e0o<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
\u60f3\u8981 – xi\u01ceng y\u00e0o<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
If there’s any difference, it’s probably akin to saying “I’d like<\/strong>…” (\u6211\u60f3 – w\u01d2 xi\u01ceng) versus “I want<\/strong>…” (\u6211\u8981 – w\u01d2 y\u00e0o). This is actually important in English, where it’s considered more polite to use the former, but you don’t really need to worry about that in China.<\/p>\n In my years of living here, I have noticed the different situations that these words are usually used in. The word\u00a0\u60f3 is often used to express the desire to do something in the future – for example when discussing dinner plans with a friend.<\/p>\n I want to eat hot pot.<\/p><\/div>\n The word\u00a0\u8981 is often used in situations such as ordering food, buying something, or taxing a taxi. It’s more immediate and direct:<\/p>\n I want coffee!!!<\/p><\/div>\n Don’t worry about the difference, though. You can use both\u00a0of them, so go ahead and change it up once in a while if you want. Whichever word you choose, people will understand that you want something. Honestly, I rarely hear anyone say \u60f3\u8981 – Chinese people are all about simplifying things and using less words. Why use two characters when you can just use one? Here’s a great YouTube vid that shows you a bunch of examples in action:<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=yTky2gu4bSM<\/a><\/p>\n Just like in English (need, must, have to, etc.), there are multiple words you can use in Chinese. The two most common are:<\/p>\n The difference between these two is similar to saying “I need<\/strong>…” (\u6211\u9700\u8981 – w\u01d2 x\u016b y\u00e0o) versus “I must\/I have to<\/strong>…” (\u6211\u5f97 – w\u01d2 d\u00e9i).\u00a0You may have noticed the character\u00a0\u8981 there again. That’s right, the same character can be used for “want” and “need” – no wonder my Chinese students are always confusing the two! Here are some more examples to help you out:<\/p>\n We really need to study Chinese if we’re going to understand this menu…<\/p><\/div>\n It should be noted that the character\u00a0\u5f97 is often used as a particle and pronounced “de.” To review the other use of this character, check out the post called “You Speak Chinese Very Well<\/a>.” Here are a few sentences using it to mean “must\/have to”:<\/p>\n Check out this video for more uses of\u00a0\u5f97:<\/p>\n![\"I](\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2012\/09\/hotpot.jpg\")
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![\"Cup](\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2014\/10\/DSC_0908.jpg\")
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Need<\/h1>\n
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\u9700\u8981 – x\u016b y\u00e0o<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
\u5f97 – d\u011bi<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"We](\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2014\/08\/menu.jpg\")
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