想 (xiǎng) — to want / think in Mandarin
🔊 Tap to hear it
#91 most common word · HSK 1 · CEFR A1
Pinyin colour key: tone 1 (high flat), tone 2 (rising), tone 3 (dipping), tone 4 (falling), neutral.
Tone breakdown
想 is pronounced xiǎng. Tap any syllable’s row to hear the whole word.
In a sentence
Wǒ xiǎng shuìjiào.
I want to sleep.
Hear it, then say it right
Reading pinyin only gets you halfway. ToneDeck plays native audio for 想 and thousands more words, then scores your pronunciation so your tones land. HSK 1 is free, no install.
Start freeFrequently asked questions
What does 想 mean?+
想 (xiǎng) means "to want / think" in Mandarin Chinese.
How do you pronounce 想?+
想 is pronounced xiǎng. It uses the tone 3 (rising/dipping). Tap the character on this page to hear native audio.
How common is 想 in Mandarin?+
想 is the #91 most frequent word in spoken Mandarin, so it is one of the first words worth learning.
Where 想 fits
Every HSK 1 word with tone-coloured pinyin and audio.
Words at a similar frequency
Master the tones first
What each tone sounds like and why it matters.
Why some tones change in connected speech.
Now on iPhone · Android coming soon
ToneDeck is on the App Store. The trainer works right now.
Download ToneDeck for iPhone today, and your progress syncs across every device. Prefer the browser? The full tone trainer runs at tonedeck.app right now, no install, free to start.
Browse more on the Mandarin vocabulary hub, or read how to learn Mandarin tones.