想 xiǎng — to think; to believe; to suppose; to wish; to want; to miss
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.
Common words: 想到 (xiǎng dào)、想法 (xiǎng fǎ)、想起 (xiǎng qǐ)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "to think"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "to think", including 想 (xiǎng), 思 (sī). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "to think" covers 2 different Chinese characters — 想 (xiǎng), 思 (sī) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 2 characters do not share a sound — their readings span xiǎng, sī — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 想 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 想 xiǎngto think; to believe; to suppose; to wish; to want; to missUseful words: 想到, 想法
- 思 sīto think; to considerUseful words: 意思, 不好意思
Common words for these 2 "to think" characters
Anchor each of these 2 characters in a word you can picture — start with 想 (xiǎng) — so "to think" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
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意思yì siidea; opinion; meaning; wish不好意思bù hǎo yì sito feel embarrassed; to find it embarrassing; to be sorry (for inconveniencing sb)有意思yǒu yì siinteresting; meaningful; enjoyable; fun
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 2 ways to say "to think".
思 sī — to think; to consider
他正在思考一个问题。Tā zhèng zài sī kǎo yí ge wèn tí.He is thinking about a problem.
Common words: 意思 (yì si)、不好意思 (bù hǎo yì si)、有意思 (yǒu yì si)
All 2 characters
Open 想、思 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.