<p>As a native Chinese speaker, I think “我本想”，“我本以为”，“我本打算” are the answers to your questions.
For example, your first sentence:
I wish I could go to the movies tonight, but I have too much work to do.
Translations could be:
我 本以为 我 今晚 能 去看电影，但 我 还有 非常多 的工作 要做。</p>

<p>Pay attention that it should be "本来以为", but we usually say “本以为” for short. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-03T22:59:42.393Z
Thanks for this answer!  Is it correct to say that the 我本想...  approach could be translated as, "I wanted to go to the movies, but I had too much work."  Or 本打算, I was planning on going to the movies, but I had too much work."  

Is it correct that this is slightly different than wishful thinking?
The_Anomaly
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-09T13:31:17.253Z
You are right! However, don't worry about these differences. They are trivial and have the almost same meaning.
nickluchen
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-03T14:21:44.533Z
2014-08-03T14:21:44.533Z
nickluchen
<p>I know what you mean, but for me, 希望 or 想 are natural and accurate words in Chinese when you explain "I wish". What confuses you in Chinese is the intonation we use you should pay more attention. <strong>What's different between Chinese and english is Chinese verbs don't have tense</strong>. Because of the intonation, one word in Chinese can have several different meanings.</p>

<p>When you use positive intonation like 我**希望**明天是个好天气！(which means I hope it will be a sunny day tomorrow!) It explains the same meaning as I hope...</p>

<p>When you use negative intontion like 我**希望**每天不要上班. Other people can understand what you think about is unrealistic. If you want to stress your intonation, you can add 真 or 太 in your sentence.(我真希望每天不要上班or我太希望每天不要上班就好了）</p>

<p>My suggestion is you could pay more attention to the intonation when your friends speak. And ask him whether a word has other meanings when using up or down intonation.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-03T23:04:10.240Z
Thank you for your answer!  If you will pardon my ignorance--what do you mean by positive/negative intonation?
The_Anomaly
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-04T13:12:32.080Z
@The_Anomaly In this case, I think it just means up/down voice. When you speak in a negative way, maybe you are in a bad mood. In contrary, positive intonation is always used to make a real wish in the future. I hope that's clear.
TIna
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-03T13:55:22.393Z
2014-08-03T13:55:22.393Z
TIna
<p>for something in the past or present, it can be translated to "要是……就好了"
examples: 
I wish that I would have thought of that earlier.
我要是早点想到这个就好了。
I wish I did not have to go to work every day.
我要是不用每天上班就好了。</p>

<p>it's kind of like "if only..."</p>

<p>for something in the future, you just need to say “我想……”
example：
I wish I could go to the movies tonight, but I have too much work to do
我想今晚去看电影，但是还有好多事情没做呢</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-06T18:48:21.923Z
2014-08-06T18:48:21.923Z
OhLook
<p>There are several options that clearly state that it cannot come true:</p>

<ul>
<li>I wish I could go to the movies tonight, but I have too much work to do.</li>
</ul>

<p>我 <strong>本想</strong>（本来想要）今晚去看电影，但要做的事情太多了。</p>

<p>我 <strong>倒想</strong>（倒是想要）今晚去看电影，但要做的事情太多了。</p>

<ul>
<li>I wish that I would have thought of that earlier.</li>
</ul>

<p>我 <strong>真希望</strong> 我之前能想到，（现在说什么都晚了。）</p>

<ul>
<li>I wish I had bought this book at the beginning of the semester.</li>
</ul>

<p>我 <strong>真希望</strong> 我一开学就买了这本书，（但当时钱不够啊。）</p>

<p>我 <strong>本想</strong> 我一开学就买了这本书，（但后来忘记了。）</p>

<ul>
<li>I wish I did not have to go to work every day.</li>
</ul>

<p>我 <strong>真希望</strong> 不用天天上班。</p>

<p>我 <strong>倒想</strong> 不用天天上班。</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-03T23:05:42.127Z
Thanks for your answer!  When you wrote: 我 真希望 不用天天上班。  How do you know if this means: I really hope I do not have to work every day, vs. I really wish I did not have to work every day.  Is it just based on context?
The_Anomaly
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-04T03:36:15.843Z
"真", "倒" or "本" means it cannot come true. It might be called subjunctive mood (not sure the terminology). For example, "I really hope I do not have to work every day" can be used in the context: "我希望我不用每天上班，所以我辞掉了上一份工作找了份兼职，一周只需要上两天班。", vs "I really wish I did not have to work every day."  - "我真希望我不用每天工作，但没有办法，我需要赚钱养家。"
wuyefeibao
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-02T17:55:55.510Z
2014-08-02T17:55:55.510Z
wuyefeibao
<p>大家好！</p>

<p>I had a question that I have often asked my native-Chinese speaking friends, but I have not been satisfied with the answer.  In English, I find myself often saying, "I wish..."  For example:</p>

<p>I wish I could go to the movies tonight, but I have too much work to do.</p>

<p>I wish that I would have thought of that earlier. </p>

<p>I wish I had bought this book at the beginning of the semester.</p>

<p>I wish I did not have to go to work every day.</p>

<p>My friends have often given me the translation 希望, but I feel like this is hope.  But I feel like this may not be appropriate for things that cannot come true.  In all the examples above, "I hope" is not accurate.  And if I said, say, "我希望每天不要上班” I feel like I am saying, "I hope I do not have to go to work every day."</p>

<p>How can I express this "wishful" thinking?</p>

<word-choice><word-requests>
How to express: I wish...
# How to express: I wish...

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-08-02)

大家好！

I had a question that I have often asked my native-Chinese speaking friends, but I have not been satisfied with the answer. In English, I find myself often saying, "I wish..." For example:

I wish I could go to the movies tonight, but I have too much work to do.

I wish that I would have thought of that earlier.

I wish I had bought this book at the beginning of the semester.

I wish I did not have to go to work every day.

My friends have often given me the translation 希望, but I feel like this is hope. But I feel like this may not be appropriate for things that cannot come true. In all the examples above, "I hope" is not accurate. And if I said, say, "我希望每天不要上班” I feel like I am saying, "I hope I do not have to go to work every day."

How can I express this "wishful" thinking?

**Tags:** word-choice, word-requests

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## 4 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2014-08-02. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

There are several options that clearly state that it cannot come true:

* I wish I could go to the movies tonight, but I have too much work to do.

我 **本想**（本来想要）今晚去看电影，但要做的事情太多了。

我 **倒想**（倒是想要）今晚去看电影，但要做的事情太多了。

* I wish that I would have thought of that earlier.

我 **真希望** 我之前能想到，（现在说什么都晚了。）

* I wish I had bought this book at the beginning of the semester.

我 **真希望** 我一开学就买了这本书，（但当时钱不够啊。）

我 **本想** 我一开学就买了这本书，（但后来忘记了。）

* I wish I did not have to go to work every day.

我 **真希望** 不用天天上班。

我 **倒想** 不用天天上班。

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thanks for your answer!  When you wrote: 我 真希望 不用天天上班。  How do you know if this means: I really hope I do not have to work every day, vs. I really wish I did not have to work every day.  Is it just based on context?  
> **username_4**: "真", "倒" or "本" means it cannot come true. It might be called subjunctive mood (not sure the terminology). For example, "I really hope I do not have to work every day" can be used in the context: "我希望我不用每天上班，所以我辞掉了上一份工作找了份兼职，一周只需要上两天班。", vs "I really wish I did not have to work every day."  - "我真希望我不用每天工作，但没有办法，我需要赚钱养家。"  

---

### Answer by username_1 on 2014-08-03. Score: 3

As a native Chinese speaker, I think “我本想”，“我本以为”，“我本打算” are the answers to your questions.
For example, your first sentence:
I wish I could go to the movies tonight, but I have too much work to do.
Translations could be:
我 本以为 我 今晚 能 去看电影，但 我 还有 非常多 的工作 要做。

Pay attention that it should be "本来以为", but we usually say “本以为” for short.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thanks for this answer!  Is it correct to say that the 我本想...  approach could be translated as, "I wanted to go to the movies, but I had too much work."  Or 本打算, I was planning on going to the movies, but I had too much work."    Is it correct that this is slightly different than wishful thinking?  
> **username_1**: You are right! However, don't worry about these differences. They are trivial and have the almost same meaning.  

---

### Answer by username_2 on 2014-08-03. Score: 2

I know what you mean, but for me, 希望 or 想 are natural and accurate words in Chinese when you explain "I wish". What confuses you in Chinese is the intonation we use you should pay more attention. **What's different between Chinese and english is Chinese verbs don't have tense**. Because of the intonation, one word in Chinese can have several different meanings.

When you use positive intonation like 我\*\*希望\*\*明天是个好天气！(which means I hope it will be a sunny day tomorrow!) It explains the same meaning as I hope...

When you use negative intontion like 我\*\*希望\*\*每天不要上班. Other people can understand what you think about is unrealistic. If you want to stress your intonation, you can add 真 or 太 in your sentence.(我真希望每天不要上班or我太希望每天不要上班就好了）

My suggestion is you could pay more attention to the intonation when your friends speak. And ask him whether a word has other meanings when using up or down intonation.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thank you for your answer!  If you will pardon my ignorance--what do you mean by positive/negative intonation?  
> **username_2**: @The_Anomaly In this case, I think it just means up/down voice. When you speak in a negative way, maybe you are in a bad mood. In contrary, positive intonation is always used to make a real wish in the future. I hope that's clear.  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2014-08-06. Score: 1

for something in the past or present, it can be translated to "要是……就好了"
examples:
I wish that I would have thought of that earlier.
我要是早点想到这个就好了。
I wish I did not have to go to work every day.
我要是不用每天上班就好了。

it's kind of like "if only..."

for something in the future, you just need to say “我想……”
example：
I wish I could go to the movies tonight, but I have too much work to do
我想今晚去看电影，但是还有好多事情没做呢


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