"我想告诉你一件事情。"

Translation: I want to tell you something.

[Cat722536]

So, what is the difference between "一件事情" and "东西" ?

[DestinationVoid]

I assume that you may only use 东西 when reffering to tangible things.

If you cannot touch it, use 事情.

[maartendoc]

Hence the 情? :o

事 (shì) = matter/thing/item/work
情 (qíng) = feeling/emotion/passion/situation
事情 (shìqing) = affair/matter/thing

[Feduoh]

I'm wondering about the full scope of the "件" classifier. Regarding that it also works as a classifier for "事情".

[maartendoc]

件 (jiàn) = item/component/classifier for events, things, clothes etc.

[AlecChampa]

件 is a measured word for two things:

1. Matters in general (as in this case)
2. Clothing, baggage, luggage, etc.

[Hedwigechouette]

"i'd like to tell you something" was rejected but is fine

[RossGarton]

So sometimes "想“ is translated as "would like" and sometimes it's translated as "want".. come on, Duolingo! Consistency!

[Hedwigechouette]

I think they're both fine. It shouldn't reject either

[RuhRoh1]

想 is like a formal 要

[Dave168907]

Want and would like are anonymous in English. It is a question of style and both should be accepted.

[Celticfiddleguy]

I think you mean synonyms, right? But yes, both should be accepted.

[luminary23]

Is "I want to tell you one thing" correct? I would have thought so, but Duo disagrees with me XD

[tmjmt]

They're not very loose with some translations, 'thing' would probably be considered too colloquial for what they're using, but in my mind totally acceptable especially with the counter prior.

[Shingod]

"I wish to tell you something" is incorrect?

[roman2095]

No I think that "wish" (when used to mean "want") is fine. It is one of the translations of 想 in my dictionary. I think Duo just hasn't included it because "to wish" also has other meanings such as "hope for" or "long for". If you reported it, it would probably be included.

[Laura146382]

should "I would like to tell you some things" be accepted or is only "something" correct?

[NathanRasm]

一件事情 means 'one piece of business' so I would stick with 'something'.

[Laura146382]

You're correct, thank you.

[Aiman739753]

"I would like to tell you something" accepted