"你要面条还是米饭？"

Translation: Do you want noodles or rice?

[Bill496592]

Noodles or rice. The ultimate dilemma.

[YuJin382387]

Why not both, right?

[ryanprior]

Why not "Do you want rice or noodles?"

[HuangSchneeweiss]

I did the same, sure it mentions noodles first but switching them around doesn't alter the meaning fo the sentence....and to be honest rice is way better so of course you put that first.

[AxelB.J.Y.M.]

Probably, because the sentence requires one to one correspondence:
[Do] 你(you) 要(want) 面条(noodles) 还是(or) 米饭(rice) [？].

[yuxqii._]

idk

[yuxqii._]

i did the same thing

[wbeeman]

Duolingo is inconsistent. In other exercises, it insists that we translate 面条 as noodle "dishes" but in this case it is marking the sentence wrong when "dishes" is used in the translation. Please fix

[CodyPlanke]

Wait so what's the difference between using 想 by itself and using 要 by itself?

[Hsn626796]

The former indicates a "would like to" do something while the latter indicated a mere "want to" do something..

[NelsonColin]

I thought yao was "need", rather than "want". Is that wrong?

[1MOiipQU]

What is the word after noodles 条 and why do we need it?

[RanzoG]

条 means "strips" or "threads". By itself, 面 means something like "Wheat". If you combine "wheat" and "package," you get 面包 - bread. If you combine wheat and powder, you get 面粉 - flour. So WHEAT noodles (because remember, there are also rice noodles and bean noodles) get called wheat strips, mian4tiao2. If you don't say the "tiao2" you might get confused just by "wheat".

But if mian4 is combined with something else, there is no confusion. chao mian (stir-fried noodle). niu rou mian (beef noodles).

[1MOiipQU]

That's so helpful. Thanks!

[rs_taylor]

Im confused as to Want to eat or Would like to eat

[noodlsoup_]

I put in "Do you want rice or noodles?" That should be right.

[Billyfab06083]

That is not a direct translation. In reality, it doesn't matter, but this is more like school. Don't mix and match.

[ColinFulha]

Why isnt 吗 required here? What would the equivalent of 还是 be for a statement instead of a question?

[CinnamonTe1]

吗 is for questions that will be anwered with "yes" or "no". 还是 is for a question with 2 choices.

A statement with two possibilities uses 或者 (huozhe).

[ColinWhite]

"Would you like rice or noodles" should also be allowed

[ML4NT]

I just had the same problem and its 3 months later :/

[swordfairy77]

Exactly, Colin!

[cindysoria5]

thank you Hsn626796 for explaining the difference between the two forms of want. It helped alot.

[deactivated user]

I am pretty sure that it does not matter which way around we say "noodles" and "rice". Right?

[RanzoG]

In English, the sentence "Do you want noodles or rice?" can be ambiguous -- though the inflection in speech would clarify.

It could mean "Do you want to eat noodles or do you want to eat rice?" (which thing do you want to eat?)

or

"Do you want to to eat -- either noodles or rice" (pick one or both or choose not to eat any)

How can this distinction be made in Chinese?

[jillietje]

When would one 面条 and 米饭 instead of 面 and 米？when it's a dish?

[kck553048]

Which do you want to eat noodles or rice?