I did a search for this topic but could come up with anything.
In my text book the concept of going to is expressed as “want”.
“He’s coming to taipei” is “ta yao lai tai bei” 他要來台北
So how do actually express “I want to go to Taipei” or “I want to Taipei but I can’t”.
“I want to go to Taipei” = 我想去台北. (Wo3 xiang3 qu4 Tai2bei3.)
You could also use “I would like to go to Taipei” meaning it’s a wish, a desire, that may or may not happen. “I want to go to Taipei” is stronger, that’s almost a plan or you really want to make it happen." “I’m going to Taipei” is a plan that has been reinforced with arrangements.
PS If you want free English lessons online, you’ll have to say something funny in your messages!
BigJohn, the question (and forum) is about learning Chinese, not English.
[quote=“Taiwan_Student”]I did a search for this topic but could come up with anything.
In my text book the concept of going to is expressed as “want”.
“He’s coming to Taipei” is “ta yao lai tai bei” 他要來台北
So how do actually express “I want to go to Taipei” or “I want to Taipei but I can’t”.[/quote]
You’ve got a couple of choices. But first, remember that not all language is translated word-for-word. And sometimes the same structure can stand in for different things. Consider the English “I’m going to the store”. That could mean immediate action going on now, or it could have “tomorrow” attached and mean future action. Same structure in English, though.
Anyway…
xiangYao 想要 has the meaning of “would like to, want to”
xiang 想 alone, as has been pointed out above, does too
Yao 要 alone indeed can also mean “want to”
(consider the difference in meaning between “wo bUYao Qu” 我不要去 and “ni bUYao Qu!” 你不要去! One is a statement and the other an imperative.)
There are also other ways to express future action in Chinese. For example:
" " (nothing). Just adding a temporal expression is enough. wo minGTIAN Qu taIbei. 我明天去台北.
JIANG 将 (usually more in writing)
Hui 会 (usually translated as “likely to”, but sometimes it’s just future: JINTIAN BuxinG, wo minGTIAN Jiu Hui Qu. 今天不行，我明天就会去。
I’m sure there are more that aren’t occurring to me at the moment.
“I want to go to Taipei” 我想去台北. (Wo3 xiang3 qu4 Tai2bei3.) No indication of whether I can actually do it.
“I want to go to Taipei but I can’t”.我想去台北, 但是我不行.(Wo3 xiang3 qu4 Tai2bei3, dàn4 shì4 Wo3 Bu4 xinG2.) There are alternative ways to express this though.
I think the word 要(yao4) is stronger than the word 想(xiang3).
要(yao4) is more like a decision, while 想(xiang3) is more like a thought or sometimes a wish.
BTW
Generally speaking, “ta1 yao4 lai2 tai2 bei3” 他要來台北 could mean he decided to come to Taipei ,or he is coming to Taipei.
“ta1 huì4 lai2 tai2 bei3” means he will come to Taipei (and he can do it).
[quote=“msleft”]
“ta1 huì4 lai2 tai2 bei3” means he will come to Taipei (and he can do it).[/quote]
Careful with that one though, because it can easily turn into “he will come back to Taipei”, referring to a person who has lived in Taipei and is returning from elsewhere.
Dragon Bones wrote: [quote]BigJohn, the question (and forum) is about learning Chinese, not English.[/quote]
D’oh!
Mod Note:ＢTW, you need to UNcheck the “Disable BBCode in this post” box in your posting window and/or in your profile in order to get that quote function to work. I edited your post to uncheck it this time. 
(Or as Zappa once wrote, “Sorry John, sorry, better try it again; Dong work for Yuda, Dong, Dong …”)
[quote=“Ah Q”][quote=“msleft”]
“ta1 huì4 lai2 tai2 bei3” means he will come to Taipei (and he can do it).[/quote]
Careful with that one though, because it can easily turn into “he will come back to Taipei”, referring to a person who has lived in Taipei and is returning from elsewhere.[/quote]
Interesting point! 
But actually, if we want to express “he will come back/return to Taipei”, we’d say “ta1 huì4 huì2 lai2 tai2 bei3” or “ta1 huì4 huì2 tai2 bei3.”
We would use “回”(huì2) to express “back/return.”
If we just say “ta1 huì4 lai2 tai2 bei3”, mostly others will assume he hasn’t lived in Taipei.
[quote=“msleft”]
Interesting point!
But actually, if we want to express “he will come back/return to Taipei”, we’d say “ta1 huì4 huì2 lai2 tai2 bei3” or “ta1 huì4 huì2 tai2 bei3.”
We would use “回”(huì2) to express “back/return.”
If we just say “ta1 huì4 lai2 tai2 bei3”, mostly others will assume he hasn’t lived in Taipei.[/quote]
I see!
I learned Chinese on the mainland. People there mostly can’t really be arsed saying ‘hui’ twice, even if it’s a different tone, hehe!
[quote=“Ah Q”][quote=“msleft”]
Interesting point!
But actually, if we want to express “he will come back/return to Taipei”, we’d say “ta1 huì4 huì2 lai2 tai2 bei3” or “ta1 huì4 huì2 tai2 bei3.”
We would use “回”(huì2) to express “back/return.”
If we just say “ta1 huì4 lai2 tai2 bei3”, mostly others will assume he hasn’t lived in Taipei.[/quote]
I see!
I learned Chinese on the mainland. People there mostly can’t really be arsed saying ‘hui’ twice, even if it’s a different tone, hehe![/quote]
Well, it’s funny but true that although Manlanders and Taiwanese both speak mandarin, there is language barrier between us. I had conversations with them sometime, and we actually had to explain ourselves to each other. :moo: 