28.2 The Verb 要 jiu3 (‘to want’)

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In Grammar and Vocabulary 23.4, we learned the modal verb 要 (‘to need to’).

We can also use 要 jiu3 as a verb, instead of a modal verb. When used as a verb, 要 jiu3 can mean ‘to want’, and we put a noun phrase after it.

我哋要一個椒鹽豬扒。
ngo5 dei6 jiu3 jat1 go3 ziu1 jim4 zyu1 paa2.
We want one Salt and Pepper Pork Chops.
The noun phrase 一個椒鹽豬扒 jat1 go3 ziu1 jim4 zyu1 paa2 (‘one Salt and Pepper Pork Chops’) is put after the verb 要 jiu3.

We can put the modal verb 想 soeng2 (‘to want to’) before 要 jiu3 to say 想要 soeng2 jiu3, which means ‘to want to get’.

我哋想要一個椒鹽豬扒。
ngo5 dei6 soeng2 jiu3 jat1 go3 ziu1 jim4 zyu1 paa2.
We want to get one Salt and Pepper Pork Chops.

We put 唔 m4 (‘not’) before 要 jiu3 to negate 要 jiu3.

我哋唔要嘢飲。
ngo5 dei6 m4 jiu3 je5 jam2.
We don’t want drinks.

We use the X-not-X construction to form yes-no questions with 要 jiu3.

Positive Form (X)		Negative Form (not X)		X-not-X
要 jiu3 want	+	唔要 m4 jiu3 not want	→	要唔要 jiu3 m4 jiu3 want not want

請問你哋要唔要嘢飲嘅？
cing2 man6 nei5 dei6 jiu3 m4 jiu3 je5 jam2 ge2?
May I ask if you want drinks?

To answer the question, we can give a long answer or a short answer. We give a short answer more often. To give a negative short answer, we can use the verb 唔使 m4 sai2 (‘to not need’) or 唔要 m4 jiu3, but 唔使 m4 sai2 usually sounds more friendly than 唔要 m4 jiu3. Notice we use the sentence particle 喇 laa3 in the negative answers because we are indicating a rejection (See Grammar and Vocabulary 16.5).

	Long Answer	Short Answer
Positive answer	我哋要嘢飲呀。 ngo5 dei6 jiu3 je5 jam2 aa3. Yes, we want drinks.	要呀。 jiu3 aa3. Yes.
Negative answer	我哋唔要嘢飲喇。 ngo5 dei6 m4 jiu3 je5 jam2 laa3. No, we don’t want drinks.	唔使喇。 m4 sai2 laa3. We don’t need it. 唔要喇。 m4 jiu3 laa3. We don’t want it.

For positive answers, we usually also indicate the thing or the quantity we want.

A:	請問你哋要唔要嘢飲嘅？ cing2 man6 nei5 dei6 jiu3 m4 jiu3 je5 jam2 ge2? May I ask if you want drinks?
B:	要呀，要一支啤酒吖唔該。 jiu3 aa3, jiu3 jat1 zi1 be1 zau2 aa1 m4 goi1. Yes, we want one bottle of beer, please.

For negative answers, we can add the expression 唔該 m4 goi1 (‘thank you’) to sound more friendly.

A:	請問你哋要唔要嘢飲嘅？ cing2 man6 nei5 dei6 jiu3 m4 jiu3 je5 jam2 ge2? May I ask if you want drinks?
B:	唔使喇，唔該。 m4 sai2 laa3, m4 goi1. We don’t need it. Thank you.

想 soeng2 (‘to want to’) and 要 jiu3 (‘to want’) have similar meanings, but their use is different.

Word	Use	Example
想 + Verb soeng2 + Verb to want to	- Used to indicate we want to do something - Followed by a verb (an action)	我想食椒鹽豬扒。 ngo5 soeng2 sik6 ziu1 jim4 zyu1 paa2. I want to eat Salt and Pepper Pork Chops. 想 soeng2 is followed by the verb 食 sik6 (‘to eat’).
要 + Noun jiu3 + Noun to want	- Used to indicate we want something - Followed by a noun phrase (an item)	我哋要一個椒鹽豬扒。 ngo5 dei6 jiu3 jat1 go3 ziu1 jim4 zyu1 paa2. We want one Salt and Pepper Pork Chops. 要 jiu3 is followed by the noun phrase 椒鹽豬扒 ziu1 jim4 zyu1 paa2 (‘Salt and Pepper Pork Chops’).