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wǒ bù xiǎng huā tài duō qián mǎi xīn yīfu.

我wǒ　不bù　想xiǎng　花huā　太tài　多duō　钱qián　买mǎi　新xīn　衣服yīfu。wǒ bù xiǎng huā tài duō qián mǎi xīn yīfu.
I don’t want to spend too much money on new clothes.
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Questions & Answers about wǒ bù xiǎng huā tài duō qián mǎi xīn yīfu.

What exactly does 想 (xiǎng) mean in this sentence? Is it “to think” or “to want”?

In this sentence, 想 means “to want / to feel like (doing something)”, not “to think”.

  • 我想花… = “I want to spend…”
  • 我不想花… = “I don’t want to spend…”

Common meanings of 想:

  1. to want / would like to
    • 我想喝咖啡。= I want to drink coffee.
  2. to think / to consider
    • 我想这儿很贵。= I think it’s expensive here.

Here it’s clearly meaning 1 because it’s followed by an action (花太多钱买新衣服).

Why is it 不想, not 没想? Aren’t both ways of saying “not”?

Chinese has two main negative words: 不 (bù) and 没 (méi), and they’re not interchangeable.

  • 不 = not, don’t, won’t (habit, intention, general refusal, future)
  • 没 = not, didn’t, haven’t (mostly about past actions / states or existence)

Here we’re talking about an intention / desire:

  • 我不想花太多钱… = I don’t want to spend too much money… (now, in general, or for this future situation)

没想 usually means “didn’t think / had not thought”, e.g.:

  • 我没想过这个问题。= I’ve never thought about this question.

So 没想花太多钱 would sound like “(I) had not thought about spending too much money”, which is not the meaning here.

How does the structure 花太多钱买新衣服 work? Why are there two verbs (花 and 买) together?

The structure is:

  • 花太多钱 买 新衣服
    • 花 (huā) = to spend (money/time)
    • 太多钱 (tài duō qián) = too much money
    • 买 (mǎi) = to buy
    • 新衣服 (xīn yīfu) = new clothes

Conceptually, it is:

spend too much money in order to buy new clothes

So you can see it as:

  • 花 [太多钱] [买新衣服]
    • first verb phrase: 花太多钱 = spend too much money
    • second verb phrase: 买新衣服 = (to) buy new clothes, explaining what you are spending the money for

This “Verb 1 + Object 1 + Verb 2 + Object 2” pattern is common when the first verb describes the “means” (spend, use, take) and the second verb shows the purpose or result.

A similar pattern:

  • 我花很多时间学中文。
    = I spend a lot of time studying Chinese.
    • 花很多时间 (spend a lot of time) + 学中文 (to study Chinese)
Could I say 我不想买太多新衣服 instead? Does it mean the same thing?

我不想买太多新衣服 and 我不想花太多钱买新衣服 are related but not identical:

  • 我不想花太多钱买新衣服。
    = I don’t want to spend too much money on buying new clothes.

    • Focus is on the amount of money.

  • 我不想买太多新衣服。
    = I don’t want to buy too many new clothes.

    • Focus is on the quantity of clothes.

You can also say:

  • 我不想花很多钱买新衣服。= I don’t want to spend a lot of money on new clothes.
    (softer than 太多 “too much”)

So yes, your sentence is correct, but it slightly shifts the emphasis from “money” to “how many clothes”.

Why is there no measure word before 衣服? Shouldn’t it be something like 一件衣服?

Chinese does use measure words for countable nouns:

  • 一件衣服 = one piece of clothing
  • 两件衣服 = two pieces of clothing

But in this sentence, 衣服 is used in a general, non-counted way, more like “clothes” as a category, not “a specific number of items”. In that case, you don’t need a measure word.

Compare:

  • 我不想花太多钱买新衣服。
    = I don’t want to spend too much money buying new clothes.
    (general; could be one or several items)

  • 我不想花太多钱买三件新衣服。
    = I don’t want to spend too much money to buy three new pieces of clothing.
    (specific quantity, so a measure word is required)

Why is there no 的 (de) between 新 and 衣服? Why not 新的衣服?

Both are possible, but there is a nuance:

  • 新衣服 (without 的)
  • 新的衣服 (with 的)

In Chinese, short, common adjectives (especially one-syllable ones like 新, 大, 小, 黑, 白) can directly modify a noun without 的, particularly in common combinations.

  • 新衣服 = new clothes
  • 黑鞋子 = black shoes
  • 大房子 = big house

Adding 的 often makes it sound a bit more descriptive or slightly more emphatic, or more like “(the) clothes which are new”:

  • 我买了新的衣服。
    = I bought some new clothes. (slightly more emphasis on “new”)

In most everyday speech, 新衣服 is perfectly natural and probably more common here.

What’s the difference between 太多钱 and 很多钱?

Both mean “a lot of money”, but they differ in attitude:

  • 太多钱 (tài duō qián) = too much money

    • implies excess or disapproval
    • “more than I’m comfortable with”

  • 很多钱 (hěn duō qián) = a lot of money

    • neutral; doesn’t say if it’s good or bad

So:

  • 我不想花太多钱买新衣服。
    = I don’t want to spend too much money (it feels excessive).

  • 我有很多钱。
    = I have a lot of money. (just a fact)

You could say:

  • 这件衣服要很多钱。= This piece of clothing costs a lot of money. (neutral)
  • 这件衣服要太多钱了。= This piece of clothing costs way too much money. (complaint)
Can I change the word order to 我不想买新衣服花太多钱?

我不想买新衣服花太多钱 sounds unnatural or confusing to native speakers.

The natural, clear structure is:

  • 我不想花太多钱买新衣服。
    [don’t want] [spend too much money] [to buy new clothes]

If you put 买新衣服 in the middle, it becomes unclear whether 花太多钱 is describing buying new clothes, or something else. Chinese usually keeps the “spend money” part together:

  • 我不想花太多钱买新衣服。 ✅
  • 我不想花钱买新衣服。 ✅ (I don’t want to spend money to buy new clothes)

So keep 花…钱 together, then add 买新衣服 after it.

Why is 不 (bù) pronounced bù, not bú, in 不想 (bù xiǎng)?

不 (bù) has a regular tone and a special tone-change rule:

  • On its own: bù (fourth tone)
  • Before another syllable with fourth tone, it usually changes to bú (second tone).

Examples:

  • 不对 → bú duì (right? no)
  • 不是 → bú shì

In this sentence:

  • 想 (xiǎng) is third tone, not fourth.
  • So 不 stays bù: bù xiǎng, not bú xiǎng.

Summary:

  • bù + 4th tone → bú (tone change)
  • bù + other tones → usually stays bù
How do you pronounce 衣服 (yīfu) exactly? Why is it not both first tone?

Standard pronunciation of 衣服 is:

  • yīfu
    • 衣 (yī) = first tone
    • 服 (fu) = neutral tone here, not “fú”

So you don’t fully stress the second syllable; it’s lighter and shorter, like “YI-fu” (weak “fu”).

Also:

  • 衣服 means “clothes” or “clothing” in general; there is no plural marking in Chinese, so it can mean “a piece of clothing” or “clothes” depending on context.
  • If you want to count:
    • 一件衣服 (one piece of clothing)
    • 几件衣服 (a few pieces of clothing)
Why is there no 了 (le) in this sentence?

了 often marks completion or a change of state:

  • 我买了新衣服。= I (have) bought new clothes.
  • 天气冷了。= The weather has become cold.

In 我不想花太多钱买新衣服, the verb is 想 (want) in the present/general sense:

  • It’s about a current attitude or preference, not a completed action.
  • You are not describing something that has already happened, but what you don’t want to (ever / this time) do.

If you used 了, you’d be talking about the action actually happening:

  • 我花了太多钱买新衣服。
    = I spent too much money buying new clothes. (it already happened)

So here, no 了 is correct because it’s about intention, not completed action.

What’s the difference between 我不想花太多钱买新衣服 and 我不太想花太多钱买新衣服?

Both are grammatically correct but have different strengths:

  • 我不想花太多钱买新衣服。
    = I don’t want to spend too much money buying new clothes.

    • Sounds quite firm / clear: I don’t want this.

  • 我不太想花太多钱买新衣服。
    = I don’t really want to spend too much money buying new clothes.

    • 不太 softens it; it’s more like “I’m not very keen on it” or “I’d rather not”.

So:

  • 不想 = more decisive “don’t want”
  • 不太想 = softer, more hesitant “don’t really want”
Could I drop the 我 and just say 不想花太多钱买新衣服?

Yes, in informal conversation, if the subject is already clear from context, Chinese often omits the subject:

  • (A:) 你要买这件吗？It’s implied they’re talking about you.
  • (B:) 不想花太多钱买新衣服。
    = (I) don’t want to spend too much money on new clothes.

However, in:

  • isolated sentences,
  • writing exercises, or
  • when the subject isn’t obvious,

you should keep 我 for clarity:

  • 我不想花太多钱买新衣服。 ✅