HomeChineseGlossary › What do you want?

Chinese vocabulary · Beginner

How do you say "What do you want?" in Chinese?

你想要什么?

nǐ xiǎng yào shén me ?

Noun Hanzi

In Chinese, "What do you want?" is 你想要什么?.

Listen to the pronunciation:

Free Chinese learning game. No sign-up, play in browser. See all games

Pronunciation

Nee shyahng yow shen muh, with xiang having a rising tone and yao having a fourth tone.

Writing and usage

Four characters: 你 (you), 想 (think/want), 要 (want/need), 什 (what), 么 (particle). Expresses desire.

Example sentence

你想要什么?

What do you want?

Test your Chinese knowledge in our free browser games.

How to remember 你想要什么?

Xiǎng yào (want) combines thinking and needing, expressing intention or desire for something.

Related words

Browse all Chinese words in the glossary.

See more phrases.

See more phrases.

See more phrases.

Questions about 你想要什么?

How do you say "What do you want?" in Chinese?

In Chinese, "What do you want?" is 你想要什么?. It is a noun.

How is 你想要什么? written in Chinese?

Four characters: 你 (you), 想 (think/want), 要 (want/need), 什 (what), 么 (particle). Expresses desire.

How is 你想要什么? used in a sentence?

Use 你想要什么? as you would use the equivalent noun in English. For example: 你想要什么? (What do you want?).

Where can I practice Chinese words for free?

You can play free Chinese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, no sign-up required. Every word in the Chinese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.

"What do you want?" in other languages

Curated by Callan Ratcliffe

This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Chinese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation.

Noun Town language-learning game on PC, Mac and VR
The full experience

Noun Town on PC, Mac & VR

These browser games are just a taste. The full Noun Town is a bigger, deeper 3D world: explore a living town, talk to its characters and learn thousands of words in immersive VR, Mixed Reality, or on your computer. It's an award-winning game with 590+ reviews on Steam and 12 languages to learn.

See the full game ▶

Spot an error? Email us at contact@noun.town