# I want, I wish, I need (a car)



## ThomasK

May I ask what your translations are for the above expressions? The main question is whether you use three different verbs or not. So your answers can be very brief. 

In English _need _and _want _can have a very similar meaning, I believe: "I want you" could be the three together, I think. But I suppose in most language those are three different meanings (concepts?)...


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## Yendred

French:

_I want    Je veux
I wish    Je souhaite
I need  _ _J'ai besoin de_

All three (especially the first two) are often attenuated by using the conditional tense, making them less rude:
_Je voudrais
Je souhaiterais
J'aurais besoin de_


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## symposium

Italian:
Voglio una macchina
Vorrei una macchina (condizionale tense) or: Vorrei avere una macchina (I wish I had a car)
Ho bisogno di una macchina


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## Circunflejo

ThomasK said:


> The main question is whether you use three different verbs or not.


Yes, querer, desear and necesitar, respectively.


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## Welsh_Sion

We do not use verbs in Welsh - as we don't have them! (They are in reality, verbal nouns). In these constructions, nouns are preferred to verbs.

I want … = Dw i eisiau ...('Eisiau' is a noun - NOT a verb, nor verbal noun. With the idea of 'je veux' in French).

I want … (meaning 'I lack ...') = 'Dw i angen ...' (Again, 'angen' is a noun).

I wish … = Mi hoffwn i … ('Hoffi' is more like 'to like', used here in the conditional. To my ears, the expression, 'mi ddymunwn i …' which is closer to English - 'dymuno' = wishing - sounds odd.

I need … = 'Dw i angen ...' (as above).


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## ThomasK

symposium said:


> Italian:
> Voglio una macchina
> Vorrei una macchina (condizionale tense) or: Vorrei avere una macchina (I wish I had a car)
> Ho bisogno di una macchina


 "Vorrei" is literally "would like to", isn't it? I suppose "desidero" is  too formal… How about "mi piacerebbe"?


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## ThomasK

Thanks a lot 





Welsh_Sion said:


> (1a) I want … = Dw i eisiau ...('Eisiau' is a noun - NOT a verb, nor verbal noun. With the idea of 'je veux' in French).
> 
> (1b) I want … (meaning 'I lack ...') = 'Dw i angen ...' (Again, 'angen' is a noun).
> 
> (2) I wish … = Mi hoffwn i … ('Hoffi' is more like 'to like', used here in the conditional. To my ears, the expression, 'mi ddymunwn i …' which is closer to English - 'dymuno' = wishing - sounds odd.
> 
> (3) I need … = 'Dw i angen ...' (as above).


 Could you comment a little on the fundamental meaning of the two (1) "I want" "s? Is it something like "there is a  wish/ there is a lack"? Do they have a different meaning as for you? Does (1b) resemble (3)?

@all: as for wishing, Italian does not use a strict translation. And in Dutch I have the feeling that at least the verb sounds old, too formal. Not the noun. Could that be true?


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## apmoy70

Greek:

Want, wish: *«Θέλω»* [ˈθe.lɔ], aphetism of Koine Greek v. *«ἐθέλω» ĕtʰélō* --> _want, wish_ (PIE *h₁ɡʷʰel- _wish_ cf ΟCS желѣти (želěti), _want, wish_). *«Θέλω (ένα) αυτοκίνητο»* [ˈθe.lɔ (ˈe.na) af.tɔˈci.ni.tɔ] --> _I want/wish (a) car_.

Need: *«Χρειάζομαι»* [xriˈa.zɔ.me] (deponent v.), a late development from the Classical fem. noun *«χρείᾱ» kʰreí̯ā* --> _requirement, desire, wish, use, praxis, benefit, help, service, function, association_ < indeclinable substantive *«χρή» kʰrḗ* --> _it is necessary, one must, should_ (of unclear etymology; if it's IE, it's isolated within Greek). *«Χρειάζομαι (ένα) αυτοκίνητο»* [xriˈa.zɔ.me (ˈe.na) af.tɔˈci.ni.tɔ] --> _I need (a) car_.


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## Perseas

ThomasK said:


> May I ask what your translations are for the above expressions?


Is "I wish a car" valid?
_I want a car.
I need a car.
I wish a car._


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## Welsh_Sion

I have tried to give the less formal equivalents in all cases. (Dw i = I am is also rendered in the more formal written registers as 'yr wyf'' for example). Further, speakers of Southern Welsh often prefer 'moyn' for 'eisiau'.

1a Dw i eisiau = I want = Je veux. (Something that I really desire, to the point of rudeness. As opposed to the more polite equivalent of 'I would like').

1b Dw i angen = I want, more in the sense of something is missing to me and consequently, more like 'I need'

'Eisiau' and 'angen' are nouns so don't have the predicate 'yn' ( = 'in-the-state-of') before them as you would have with verbal nouns

In more formal registers, you could have:

Mae eisiau bwyd arnaf (fi) = Is a wanting of food on-me = I want food (loosely, I'm hungry)

Mae angen diod arnaf (fi) = Is a need of a drink on-me = I need a drink/I want a drink (loosely, I'm thirsty)

Edit: "I need a drink" instead of "I need a diod".


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## sound shift

Perseas said:


> Is "I wish a car" valid?


 No, it's not.


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## merquiades

Perseas said:


> Is "I wish a car" valid?
> _I want a car.
> I need a car.
> I wish a car._


To wish for something


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## symposium

ThomasK said:


> "Vorrei" is literally "would like to", isn't it? I suppose "desidero" is  too formal… How about "mi piacerebbe"?


Actually, "vorrei" is "I would" (as if, a "softer" version of "I want") whereas "mi piacerebbe" is "I would like to". "Desidero" is indeed a bit formal and, how can I say? "comandeering". "Desidero una macchina" sounds a bit like "I want a car, just bring it to me now."


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## tunaafi

German:

I want - ich will; often replaced by the more polite _I would like - ich möchte,_
I wish - ich wünsche,
i need - ich brauche.


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## ThomasK

symposium said:


> Actually, "vorrei" is "I would" (as if, a "softer" version of "I want") whereas "mi piacerebbe" is "I would like to". "Desidero" is indeed a bit formal and, how can I say? "comandeering". "Desidero una macchina" sounds a bit like "I want a car, just bring it to me now."


In fact I now wonder whether we still use (or need) the verb _wish_. In Dutch I could replace it by _would wan_t/like mostly. However, _desiderable _(_wenselijk_) might still be commonly used: not necessary but it would be pleasant...

Something else might be: do  those wish verbs all have *the exact same meaning*? The fact that English prefers "wish for" (with a preposition) might allow for an interpretation along the lines of "long for"... In Dutch it is fairly straightforward: "Ik wens" might be a slightly more formal, more indirect version of "I want" but implying that the wish does not leave much space for delay.


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## Włoskipolak 72

Polish

I want  = chcę                      verb : chcieć 
I would like = chciałbym, chciałabym            
I wish  = życzę sobie            verb : życzyć sobie (wish yourself) 
I need  = potrzebuję             verb : potrzebować

I desire = pragnę                  verb : pragnąć


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## djmc

Want in English often implies that one wishes to have something but doesn't have it. To wish is normally used of actions or states "I wish I were as clever as her". Need doesn't imply one has or doesn't have anything. One could have an exchange such as
"You insist on going green but you have a car"
"But I need it, I need to get to work and there is no bus".


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## ThomasK

Maybe we ought to distinguish between two kinds of _need: _the one expressing lack and the other suggesting importance (like 'indispensable'). Good point. And then we could suggest that _to want _corresponds with _need_1 + wanting, although I think that if someone says (a) "It is raining, I need a rain coat" vs. (b) "It is raining, I want a rain coat" they are very similar, with one emphasizing the lack and the other emphasizing the want/ wish, but that the distinction is almost inexistent. I think (a) sounds a little strange in Dutch when said outloud...


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## Yendred

ThomasK said:


> (a) "It is raining, I need a rain coat" (...) I think (a) sounds a little strange in Dutch when said outloud...


Why does it sound strange?
In French, "_Il pleut, j'ai besoin d'un imperméable_" is quite neutral and all-purpose.



ThomasK said:


> (b) "It is raining, I want a rain coat"


That one sounds a bit strange for me, as if the person was brutally requiring someone to supply him/her with a rain coat.


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## ThomasK

Neither of us is a native speaker, I am afraid. I had a hunch indeed that (a) is OK in English because the link between 'want' and 'need' is so close, but it might sound a little awkward in Dutch; it does not come across as a request. I quite admit that (b) might sound brutal, but maybe that is different for native speakers...


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## sound shift

I agree with Yendred about "It is raining. I want a raincoat."
By the way, this "It is" is improbable; the norm here is "It's".


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## ThomasK

OK, thanks. So it cannot mean (be interpreted as) something like "I need a raincoat" then.


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