Meaning
to think; to believe; to suppose; to wish; to want; to miss
Chinese: 思考、希望或思念。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “xiang” becomes a different word in each tone. 想 is the 3rd tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 想到xiǎng dàoto think of; to call to mind; to anticipate
- 想法xiǎng fǎway of thinking; opinion; notion; to think of a way (to do sth)
- 想起xiǎng qǐto recall; to think of; to call to mind
- 理想lǐ xiǎngan ideal; a dream; ideal; perfect
- 思想sī xiǎngthought; thinking; idea; ideology
Example Sentence
我想喝一杯热牛奶。Wǒ xiǎng hē yì bēi rè niú nǎi.I want to drink a cup of hot milk.
我WǒI想xiǎngto think (about)喝hēto drink一yìone杯bēicup热rèto warm up牛奶niú nǎicow's milk。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
相 (xiāng: an eye 目 examining a tree 木) over 心 (heart): turning something over in the mind and heart. It means ‘to think / want / miss’.
A way to remember it
Looking something over, down in the heart — to think.
Easy to confuse with
- 思‘To think’: also ends in 心, but the top is the head element 田, not 相.