Use the examples with their context and limits. Recall a sentence before reading the model. Original teaching additions accompany examples adapted from Chinese Grammar Wiki (AllSet Learning, CC BY-NC-SA); see the course reference provenance.
Choose food and a drink
Ask what someone wants to eat and drink.
Build the meaning
想吃 says what someone would like to eat. 在吃 describes eating in progress. Compare 我想吃饺子 and 我在吃饺子.
Ask 吃什么 or 喝什么 for the missing food or drink; reply with that information rather than a bare yes.
Useful words in context
- 吃 chī — eat. 我想吃饭。
- 喝 hē — drink. 我喝水。
- 饺子 jiǎozi — dumplings. 我想吃饺子。
- 水 shuǐ — water. 我要一杯水。
- 想 xiǎng — would like to. 你想吃什么？
Read for meaning
王力想吃饺子。林安想吃米饭。两个人都喝水。他们中午在学校吃饭。
Wang Li wants dumplings. Lin An wants rice. Both drink water. They eat at school at noon.
Listen to a different passage
Ask a partner to read this with the script closed. Use the online practice for browser playback.
我想吃米饭，不想吃饺子。我喝茶。
I want rice, not dumplings. I drink tea.
Speak and write
Ask a partner what they want to eat and drink. Repeat their choices to check you understood.
Write a lunch choice: one food and one drink. Then state the place you eat.
One speaking model: A: 你想吃什么？ B: 我想吃米饭。 A: 喝什么？ B: 水。
One writing model: 我想吃饺子，喝水。我在学校吃饭。
- Name a food and a drink.
- Use 想 for the choice.
- Give a place with 在.
Check the distinction: 我想吃 means I want to eat, not I am eating now. Do not treat wanting and ongoing action as the same.