Home › Chinese › Glossary › 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 ?
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
- How old are you? 你多大了? nǐ duō dà le ?
- What can you do? 你能做什么? nǐ néng zuò shén me ?
- What is the temperature on Saturday? 星期六的温度是多少? xīng qī liù de wēn dù shì duō shǎo ?
- What is the weather on Friday? 星期五的天气怎么样? xīng qī wǔ de tiān qì zěn me yàng ?
- What is the weather on Monday? 星期一的天气怎么样? xīng qī yī de tiān qì zěn me yàng ?
- What is the weather on Sunday? 星期天的天气怎么样? xīng qī tiān de tiān qì zěn me yàng ?
- What is the weather on Tuesday? 星期二的天气怎么样? xīng qī èr de tiān qì zěn me yàng ?
- What is the weather on Wednesday? 星期三的天气怎么样? xīng qī sān de tiān qì zěn me yàng ?
- When is your birthday? 你的生日是哪天? nǐ de shēng rì shì nǎ tiān ?
Browse all Chinese words in the glossary.
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
- Japanese 何が欲しいですか? (nani ga hoshī desu ka ?)
- Korean 무엇을 하고 싶어요? (mueoseul hago sipeoyo?)
- Spanish ¿Qué quieres?
- Spanish (Latin America) ¿Qué quieres?
- French Qu'est-ce que tu voudrais?
- German Was wünschst du dir?
- Italian Cosa vuoi?
- Russian Что ты хочешь? (čto ty hočešʹ?)
- Greek Τι θες; (ti thes)
- Arabic أنت عايز إيه؟ (inta Aaeyiz 'ieeh)
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 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