Expressing Your Desires In Russian Posted by Maria on May 10, 2018 in language
Expressing your wishes and desires is one of the most basic things in any language. Here are some ways you can do that in Russian.
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Я хочу
The most common way of saying you want something is simply Я хочу (I want). This can either be followed by a noun, in the accusative case for concrete things or in the genitive case for mass/abstract nouns, or by an infinitive.
- Я хочу́ но́вую маши́ну (I want a new car).
- Я хочу́ молока́ (I want some milk).
- Я хочу́ спать (I’m sleepy = “I want to sleep”).
You can also express your wishes for other people using хочу followed by чтобы + noun + verb in the past tense (technically, this is the subjunctive mood, but it looks exactly like the past tense).
- Я хочу́, что́бы показа́лось со́лнце (I want the sun to come out).
Note the irregular conjugation of хотеть.
| я | хочу́ | мы | хоти́м |
| ты | хо́чешь | вы | хоти́те |
| он/а/о | хо́чет | они | хотя́т |
Мне хочется
This construction is synonymous with я хочу, but as you see, мне is technically the object here. In other words, this phrase sounds a bit more passive. It is commonly used followed by the genitive case or an infinitive. It can also be used with a subordinate clause with чтобы just like я хочу.
- Мне хо́чется есть (I’m hungry).
- Мне хо́чется свобо́ды (I want to be free).
- Мне хо́чется, что́бы де́ти ча́ще звони́ли (I want my children to call more often).
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Мне охота
You may remember the noun охота (a hunt). In this case, however, охота functions as the predicate (“verb”) of the sentence and loosely translates as “I feel like doing something.” Normally, it is followed by an infinitive.
- ― И охо́та вам вре́мя теря́ть? (Do you really want to waste your time?) [Алексей Слаповский. Гибель гитариста (1994-1995)]
The opposite of охота is неохо́та.
- Мне неохо́та встава́ть (I don’t feel like getting up).
What other ways do you know of talking about what you want to do? What is your preferred one?
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About the Author: Maria
Maria is a Russian-born translator from Western New York. She is excited to share her fascination with all things Russian on this blog. Maria's professional updates are available in English on her website and Twitter and in Russian on Telegram.
Comments:
William:
Many thanks for the information.
Maria:
@William Glad it was useful, William!
Joseph Lynch:
I learned a lot from this lesson. I would like to have more lessons.
Maria:
@Joseph Lynch That’s good to hear. I’ll post more similar entries then.
Jen:
Hi Maria! Thanks for marking ударение! I really like your blog!
Maria:
@Jen You’re welcome, and thank you!
Maria:
@Maria Thank you, Tristian. Yes, I visited a couple years ago.
Katerina:
useful enough!
Julie:
Clearly explained lesson – very helpful.
A question unrelated to the topic –
Just completed a grammar exercise – had to translate “Where does this bus go to?” I wrote Куда едет этот автобус. The answer key said Куда идёт этот автобус. Why? I thought идти was only used for going by foot?
Maria:
@Julie Hi Julie, this is a good one! Идти may be used to talk about destinations generally, like поезд идёт в Москву (what would formally be поезд следует в Москву) — the train is headed for Moscow. To me, asking a driver when getting on the bus would justify идёт, as a question about the destination. When you are already on the bus, and it takes the wrong turn, you could use едет to refer to the actual driving (“Where’s this bus going? It’s not where I thought it was going.”). I hope this helps!
Julie:
@Maria Thank you Maria! I looked through numerous grammars and couldn’t find an explanation. Your clarification really helped.
Mark S:
@Julie Another way I think about it (not a native speaker) is whether the thing in question is going on its own power. Hence вы едете на автобусе, but автобус сам идёт. The bus itself can move, just as you can (by walking), but when you’re on the bus you’re just along for the ride. Is that a valid interpretation?
Maria:
@Mark S Upon further research, I found the following information (in Russian):
http://new.gramota.ru/spravka/buro/search-answer?s=Автобус+не+везут
https://rus.stackexchange.com/questions/48109/Как-правильно-говорить-автобусы-ходят-или-ездят
Basically, some more conservative dictionaries say you can only say идти with buses or trains, while other dictionaries allow either идти or ехать. This latter category of dictionaries would say it’s acceptable to say автобус едет, even though it’s self-powered. I hope this helps! Russians themselves seem to disagree on this point.
Mark S:
@Maria Interesting, thanks! Sounds like another one of those language changes brought on by actual use. For example the fight between звОнит / звонИт. Haha in my early days I started an argument of sorts when I asked my companion on a bus, why sometimes the emergency exit signs said запаснЫй and sometimes they said выход запаснОй выход — some Russians within earshot started debating amongst themselves! =D