想 (xiǎng) covers three related semantic areas: thinking/pondering (我在想, I am thinking), wanting or wishing to do something (我想去, I want to go), and missing someone or something out of longing (我想你, I miss you). The context and what follows the verb determines which meaning is active.

The character combines the "heart/mind" radical (心) at the bottom with a phonetic component above, reflecting its cognitive and emotional range. Compared to 要 (yào, to want), 想 expresses a softer, more tentative desire - 我想喝水 ("I would like some water") is more polite than 我要喝水 ("I want water").