Что ты хочешь?
Chto ty khochesh'?
The English phrase "what do you want" is translated into Russian as Что ты хочешь? (Chto ty khochesh'?)
This phrase is a question used to ask someone about their desires or what they would like to have.
Which one should you use?
The default form Что ты хочешь? uses the informal ты, which should only be used with friends, family or children. If you want to express a sense of intensity, such as "What on earth do you want?", you can use the genitive form Чего ты хочешь? instead of the standard accusative Что.
How does it change in a sentence?
While Что is the common way to start the question, using the genitive Чего in Чего ты хочешь? can add emphasis to the question.
How do you pronounce it?
Chto ty khochesh'?
When do people say it?
In formal settings, you can also use Что Вам нужно? to ask "What do you need?" In informal speech, the word order can be shifted to Ты чего хочешь? or Чего ты хочешь? to convey the same meaning.
Did you know?
- The word ты is a direct cognate of the English word 'thou', which was the old singular informal version of 'you'.
- In very fast or slang speech, Что is often pronounced as Чё, turning the phrase into Чё ты хочешь?
- The word что is a 'univerbation', meaning it fused two separate ancient words for 'what' and 'that' into a single unit over thousands of years.
Examples in context
- "Что ты хочешь?" – "Я хочу мяса"."What do you want?" "I want meat."This example shows a response where the speaker wants meat.Tatoeba #10050612 by spelltoad, translation #2196998 by jdmcowan
- "Что ты хочешь?" – "Я хочу собаку"."What do you want?" "I want a dog."This example shows a response where the speaker wants a dog.Tatoeba #4484859 by Selena777, translation #451481 by blay_paul
- Что ты хочешь?What do you want?This is a simple way to state the question.Tatoeba #788788 by Arkadeko, translation #1622 by CK
- Какое блюдо Вы хотите на обед?What dish do you want for lunch?
- Ну, ты чего хочешь поесть на завтрак?So, what do you want to eat for breakfast?
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ты, что, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
