"你要面条还是米饭？"

Translation: Do you want noodles or rice?

[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

[Bill496592]

Noodles or rice. The ultimate dilemma.

[YuJin382387]

Why not both, right?

[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?

[rs_taylor]

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

[cindysoria5]

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

[ColinWhite]

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

[ML4NT]

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

[gnourtnosila]

Exactly, Colin!

[cominus2]

same

[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?

[deactivated user]

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

[OMEGA913151]

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

[ColinFulha]

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

[jillietje]

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

[zamani1989]

"Do you need noodles or rice? " should be accepted. Otherwise, please explain the difference between want and need. Thank you.

[jodv]

My understanding is that 要 can be used as a shortened version of either 想要 (to want) or 需要 (to need). Context would suggest 想要 in this sentence.

[Travis70234]

想要 is very strong. It means to "desire".

[mozijiku]

需要(xūyào) means need. 要, by itself, means want.

[CalleyWang]

I think "need" would be 需要