愿意 for Willingness in Chinese
愿意
愿意 expresses a person's willingness or readiness to carry out an action. It normally comes before the verb phrase that names the action, and 不愿意 denies willingness. It reports volition rather than a future plan, learned ability, permission, or an external requirement, so those meanings need different modal expressions.
Published July 24, 2026
Reviewed July 24, 2026
01 / PATTERN
See the Structure
MODEL
Subject + 愿意 / 不愿意 + verb phrase
Read the structure
愿意 expresses a person's willingness or readiness to carry out an action. It normally comes before the verb phrase that names the action, and 不愿意 denies willingness. It reports volition rather than a future plan, learned ability, permission, or an external requirement, so those meanings need different modal expressions. Keep the model Subject + 愿意 / 不愿意 + verb phrase visible while you compare each sentence.
我愿意帮助你。
I am willing to help you.
Choose the right context
State that a person willingly accepts or chooses an action. Use 不愿意 before a verb phrase to deny willingness. Ask whether someone is willing with 愿意不愿意 or 愿意…吗.
她不愿意一个人去。
She is not willing to go alone.
Respect the boundary
Do not use it merely to predict that an event will happen. Do not use it for learned ability or objective possibility. Do not put 得 or 了 between 愿意 and its following verb phrase.
我去愿意北京学习。
(I am willing to go study in Beijing.)
Repair the pattern
Putting 愿意 after the action verb: 愿意 is a modal verb and must precede the verb phrase it governs. Here that verb phrase is 去北京学习. Inserting 得 between 愿意 and the action: 愿意 directly takes a verb phrase. 得 cannot link 愿意 to the following action in this construction.
我愿意去北京学习。
Use the repaired structure without changing the intended meaning.
02 / MAP
Read the Sentence
Read from left to right and notice the job performed by each part. The labels describe this example; they are not a rule that every Chinese sentence must copy.
我愿意帮助你。
I am willing to help you.
我愿意
Subject
This part occupies the Subject position in the model pattern.
帮助
愿意 / 不愿意
This part occupies the 愿意 / 不愿意 position in the model pattern.
你
verb phrase
This part occupies the verb phrase position in the model pattern.
03 / EXAMPLES
Examples You Can Reuse
Keep the structure stable while changing the people, objects, times, or conditions. Pinyin is shown as reading support; use the Chinese sentence and translation to confirm the grammar relationship.
我愿意帮助你。
I am willing to help you.
她不愿意一个人去。
She is not willing to go alone.
你愿意跟我们一起学习吗？
Are you willing to study with us?
04 / LIMITS
When to Use It — and When Not To
Use it when
- State that a person willingly accepts or chooses an action.
- Use 不愿意 before a verb phrase to deny willingness.
- Ask whether someone is willing with 愿意不愿意 or 愿意…吗.
Do not use it when
- Do not use it merely to predict that an event will happen.
- Do not use it for learned ability or objective possibility.
- Do not put 得 or 了 between 愿意 and its following verb phrase.
05 / REPAIR
Compare Right and Wrong
Compare the smallest meaningful change. Each explanation identifies a placement, scope, form, or clause relationship instead of treating the whole sentence as one undifferentiated mistake.
我去愿意北京学习。
我愿意去北京学习。
Putting 愿意 after the action verb
愿意 is a modal verb and must precede the verb phrase it governs. Here that verb phrase is 去北京学习.
他愿意得帮助我们。
他愿意帮助我们。
Inserting 得 between 愿意 and the action
愿意 directly takes a verb phrase. 得 cannot link 愿意 to the following action in this construction.
我去愿意北京学习。
Place 愿意 before the full action: 愿意去北京学习.
他愿意得帮助我们。
愿意 directly precedes 帮助; do not insert 得.
06 / PRACTICE
Practice the Grammar Point
Complete three short tasks in order: judge the pattern, repair a common error, and build the sentence. Feedback is fixed and reviewed, so these activities do not use a checker allowance.
1. Judge the sentence
2. Choose the correction
3. Build the sentence
Build a complete sentence with 愿意.
07 / APPLY
Apply It in Your Sentence
Write one original sentence with 愿意. Your draft moves to the checker through this browser session, selects this grammar point as the first review focus, and waits for you to submit.
08 / QUESTIONS
愿意 for Willingness Questions
What is the difference between 愿意 and 想?
愿意 emphasizes willingness to accept or carry out an action. 想 often expresses a desire, thought, or plan, so the two overlap only in some contexts.
Can 愿意 describe an inanimate subject?
Its central use attributes volition, so the subject is normally a person or an entity treated as capable of choosing. For objective possibility, use a possibility expression instead.
09 / SOURCES
Sources and Review Notes
These references support different parts of the lesson. GF0025-2021 supports level placement only; professional grammar works support the explanation, limits, examples, and cross-checks. Their inclusion does not imply endorsement.
Chinese Proficiency Grading Standards for International Chinese Language Education (GF0025-2021)
Ministry of Education and State Language Commission · Ministry of Education of the PRC · 2021
Locator: Appendix A, A.2.1.1 动词, 【二03】能愿动词: 愿意, PDF p. 185
Places 愿意 among the official Level 2 modal verbs.
Official sourceModern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide, 3rd ed.
Ross, Ma, Chen, He and Yeh · Routledge · 2024
Locator: Chapter 53, §53.4 ‘Expressing willingness’, printed p. 362
Supports 愿意 before a verb phrase for willingness and distinguishes its function from obligation and ability.
Official source10 / CONTINUE
Continue with a Connected Rule
Easy to confuse
想/要/打算要 / 想 / 打算: Want and Plan
Distinguish willingness to act from a desire, intention, or future plan.
Easy to confuse
会/能/可以会 / 能 / 可以: How to Say Can
Compare personal willingness with learned ability, objective possibility, and permission.
Compare
需要需要: Needing Something or an Action
愿意 expresses volition, whereas 需要 presents a requirement for an action or resource.
Compare
该/应该Advice and Obligation with 该 and 应该
Separate what someone willingly chooses from what advice or circumstances indicate they should do.
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Easy to confuse
Distinguish willingness to act from a desire, intention, or future plan.