I'd like some tea

New words

想 xiǎng to want, would like

不 想 bù xiǎng don’t want

吃 chī to eat

喝 hē to drink

茶 chá tea

红茶 hóngchá black tea

绿茶 lǜchá green tea

米饭 mǐfàn cooked rice

炒饭 chǎofàn fried rice

Some common Chinese food and drinks

Language points

When you want to express wishes, the modal verb想can be used. You can use the sentence structure:

sb + （不）想 + v

我想喝茶。 Wǒ xiǎng hē chá. I’d like some tea.

我不想喝茶。Wǒ bù xiǎng hē chá. I don’t want tea.

You can also add the time in the beginning of the sentence, or add “去”and the place you are going to after “想”, before the main verb, as we’ve just learnt in the last lesson.

（time）sb +想 + （去）（place）+ v

今天我 想吃米饭。Jīntiān wǒ xiǎng chī mǐfàn. I’d like some rice today.

明天我（不）想去学校看书。Míngtiān wǒ bù xiǎng qù xuéxiào kàn shū. I don’t want to read books at school tomorrow.