<p>When asking for preference, you can use 愿意 to indicate what you are willing/prefer to do, or ask what he is willing/prefers to do. You can also use 想 to ask/indicate what he/you wish(es) or is thinking of (doing/wanting).</p>

<p>E.g., 你愿意租什么样的公寓(呀)? 我愿意找个有两层的公寓. (What kind of apartment/flat would you like to rent? I would like to find a two-story apartment/flat.)</p>

<p>You can use 必须 indicate what you <em>must</em> have or have happen. </p>

<p>E.g., 那桌子必须是红色的. (That table must be red.) / 你必须把他带回来. (You must bring him back.) / 那公寓必须有一个浴缸. (That apartment/flat mush have a bathtub.)</p>

<p>If you want to indicate that an alternative something also good/fine, but not would not be your top choice, you can use 也好, 也可以, or 也行.</p>

<p>E.g., 我喜欢(吃)香草(味的)冰淇淋, 不过草莓(味的)也行. (I like [to eat] vanilla [flavored] ice cream, but strawberry [flavored] is fine as well/also good.)</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-07-03T18:03:33.243Z
`我愿意找个有两层的公寓` sounds unnatural because the stress is on `愿意`, it's more like an answer to *whether* you accept a 2 story apartment rather than what kind of apartment do you prefer. `想` is more precise for this line.
NS.X.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-07-01T02:34:27.107Z
2012-07-01T03:07:46.143Z
2012-07-01T03:07:46.143Z
Krazer
<p>for casual talk: 
"我们可以去吃西餐，也可以吃中餐，” + “你更喜欢哪个？" or "你倾向于哪个？" or "哪个是你最爱？"</p>

<p>for normal talk/writing:
preference=偏爱，偏好</p>

<p>is it what you need?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-06-28T11:25:46.457Z
2012-06-28T11:25:46.457Z
Matt
<p>I encounter many situations where I want to ask someone what they would like as opposed to what they need. For example, I wanted to find a restaurant for our class to have an end of the semester celebration. I wanted to ask my friend if she had any preferences (i.e. western-style food, chinese style food, other style food, location, cost, etc). </p>

<p>I didn't want to say: 你有什么要求？ I also didn't want to say 你喜欢什么样的饭馆？ <strong>How do you ask someone what kind of preferences they have for something?</strong></p>

<hr>

<p>Here's a better example. I want to rent a flat (i.e. apartment). My friend, a Chinese national, is helping me. He asks me: "你要租什么样的房间?". So at this point there are three classes (at least to my Western mind) of features that I could describe:</p>

<ol>
<li>What I must-have (我的要求)</li>
<li>What I like (我喜欢的)</li>
<li>What I'd prefer (?)</li>
</ol>

<p>So I don't want to just say what I "like" because I'm not sure how my friend will interpret that (i.e. I think he will interpret that as a must-have) when in reality I have a list of prioritized preferences where I'm willing to give some up because I know that finding the perfect place isn't possible (for the amount of money that I have). Also, I don't feel that 'like' (i.e. 喜欢） really describes the categorization. For example I like vanilla ice cream, the Golden State Warriors, and comic books. There's nothing that I "like" when it comes to searching for a flat. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-06-28T17:44:28.500Z
Could you elaborate on why you don't want to say "你喜欢什么样的饭馆"?
NS.X.
<word-choice>
How do you say "preferences" as opposed to "demands"?
# How do you say "preferences" as opposed to "demands"?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2012-06-28)

I encounter many situations where I want to ask someone what they would like as opposed to what they need. For example, I wanted to find a restaurant for our class to have an end of the semester celebration. I wanted to ask my friend if she had any preferences (i.e. western-style food, chinese style food, other style food, location, cost, etc).

I didn't want to say: 你有什么要求？ I also didn't want to say 你喜欢什么样的饭馆？ **How do you ask someone what kind of preferences they have for something?**

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Here's a better example. I want to rent a flat (i.e. apartment). My friend, a Chinese national, is helping me. He asks me: "你要租什么样的房间?". So at this point there are three classes (at least to my Western mind) of features that I could describe:

1. What I must-have (我的要求)
2. What I like (我喜欢的)
3. What I'd prefer (?)

So I don't want to just say what I "like" because I'm not sure how my friend will interpret that (i.e. I think he will interpret that as a must-have) when in reality I have a list of prioritized preferences where I'm willing to give some up because I know that finding the perfect place isn't possible (for the amount of money that I have). Also, I don't feel that 'like' (i.e. 喜欢） really describes the categorization. For example I like vanilla ice cream, the Golden State Warriors, and comic books. There's nothing that I "like" when it comes to searching for a flat.

**Tags:** word-choice

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Could you elaborate on why you don't want to say "你喜欢什么样的饭馆"?  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2012-07-01. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

When asking for preference, you can use 愿意 to indicate what you are willing/prefer to do, or ask what he is willing/prefers to do. You can also use 想 to ask/indicate what he/you wish(es) or is thinking of (doing/wanting).

E.g., 你愿意租什么样的公寓(呀)? 我愿意找个有两层的公寓. (What kind of apartment/flat would you like to rent? I would like to find a two-story apartment/flat.)

You can use 必须 indicate what you *must* have or have happen.

E.g., 那桌子必须是红色的. (That table must be red.) / 你必须把他带回来. (You must bring him back.) / 那公寓必须有一个浴缸. (That apartment/flat mush have a bathtub.)

If you want to indicate that an alternative something also good/fine, but not would not be your top choice, you can use 也好, 也可以, or 也行.

E.g., 我喜欢(吃)香草(味的)冰淇淋, 不过草莓(味的)也行. (I like [to eat] vanilla [flavored] ice cream, but strawberry [flavored] is fine as well/also good.)

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: `我愿意找个有两层的公寓` sounds unnatural because the stress is on `愿意`, it's more like an answer to *whether* you accept a 2 story apartment rather than what kind of apartment do you prefer. `想` is more precise for this line.  

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### Answer by username_3 on 2012-06-28. Score: 0

for casual talk:
"我们可以去吃西餐，也可以吃中餐，” + “你更喜欢哪个？" or "你倾向于哪个？" or "哪个是你最爱？"

for normal talk/writing:
preference=偏爱，偏好

is it what you need?


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