Breakdown of wǎnshang wǒ bù xiǎng zài mǎlù biān sànbù.
Questions & Answers about wǎnshang wǒ bù xiǎng zài mǎlù biān sànbù.
Chinese often follows this order:
Time → Subject → (Adverb / Negation) → Verb → Place → (Other parts)
So:
- 晚上 – time (in the evening)
- 我 – subject (I)
- 不想 – negated verb (don’t want to)
- 在马路边 – place (by the road)
- 散步 – action (take a walk)
You can say 我晚上不想在马路边散步. Both are grammatically correct.
Nuance:
- 晚上我不想在马路边散步 – emphasizes the time a bit more.
- 我晚上不想在马路边散步 – slightly more neutral, emphasizing I first.
Both orders are natural; putting time at the beginning is just very common in Chinese.
不 and 没 both mean “not,” but they’re used differently.
不 is used for:
- habitual actions
- general statements
- present or future intentions/attitudes
没 is used for:
- past actions that did not happen
- negating 有 (to have)
In 我不想在马路边散步:
- 想 here means “feel like / want to.”
- You are talking about your (present or general) desire / intention, not about a completed past event.
- So you use 不: 不想 = “do not want to / don’t feel like (doing something).”
没想在马路边散步 would sound like “didn’t think about walking by the road,” which is a different meaning.
想 has several meanings depending on context:
- to think – mentally think about something
- 我在想这件事。= I’m thinking about this matter.
- to miss someone – emotionally miss
- 我很想你。= I miss you a lot.
- to want / to feel like (doing something)
- 我想休息。= I want to rest / I feel like resting.
In 我不想在马路边散步, 想 is meaning (3):
不想 + verb = “don’t want to (do something), don’t feel like (doing something).”
They are related but not identical.
不想 + verb
- expresses a personal desire / feeling
- 我不想在马路边散步。
= I don’t want to walk by the road (I don’t feel like it).
不要 + verb
- often sounds like a command or warning (“don’t do X”)
- 对别人说：不要在马路边散步！
= Don’t walk by the road!
想要 xiǎngyào
- usually used with a noun object:
- 我想要一辆车。= I want a car.
- With a verb after it, it’s less common and can sound a bit literary or like you’re emphasizing the wanting.
- usually used with a noun object:
In your sentence, you’re just stating your own lack of desire, so:
- 我不想在马路边散步 is the most natural.
晚上我不要在马路边散步 is grammatically possible but sounds more like:
- “In the evenings, I do not permit myself / I must not walk by the road,” or
- a rule or prohibition, which is not what you typically mean.
In Chinese, place phrases usually go before the main verb as a location phrase with 在:
- 在 + place + verb
- 在公园散步 – walk in the park
- 在家吃饭 – eat at home
- 在学校学习 – study at school
So:
- 在马路边散步 = “walk by the side of the road.”
散步在马路边 is not the normal order and sounds awkward or wrong in everyday Chinese.
The typical pattern is:
(Time) + Subject + (Adverb/Negation) + 在 + Place + Verb
Here 在 is working like a preposition meaning “at / in / on.”
- 在马路边 = “at/by the side of the road.”
Structure:
- 在 + location + Verb – indicates where the action happens.
Without 在, 马路边散步 feels incomplete and unnatural in this kind of sentence.
You normally need 在 to mark location in this pattern:
- 我在马路边散步。 ✅
- 我马路边散步。 ❌ (sounds wrong in standard Mandarin)
- 马路 = “road,” especially a vehicle road / street.
- 边 = “side, edge.”
So:
- 马路边 = “the side of the road,” “roadside.”
Difference in feeling:
- 在马路散步 – sounds like “walking on the road itself” (where cars go), which can sound unsafe or odd.
- 在马路边散步 – clearly means on the side of the road, on the sidewalk or roadside.
So 边 makes it clear you’re not literally walking in the middle of the car lanes.
Yes, you can say:
- 在马路旁边散步 – also means “take a walk beside the road / by the roadside.”
Nuance:
- 边 and 旁边 are very close in this context.
旁边 is slightly more explicit as “the side, beside,” but in everyday speech:
- 马路边 and 马路旁边 can usually be used interchangeably.
散步 is a common verb-object compound that functions as a single verb meaning “to take a walk, to go for a walk.”
Literally:
- 散 – to scatter, to disperse
- 步 – step(s)
Together: 散步 = “to walk for leisure / to stroll.”
Because it’s already a full verb phrase meaning “take a walk,” it normally doesn’t take a direct object:
- 我喜欢散步。= I like taking walks.
- 我们在公园散步。= We take a walk in the park.
You can modify it with place, time, manner, etc., but you don’t say something like “散步一个地方” as its object.
Chinese doesn’t mark tense (past/present/future) the way English does. Instead, it relies on:
- time words (like 昨天, 现在, 明天)
- context
- sometimes aspect particles (了, 过, 着, etc.)
晚上我不想在马路边散步 could mean:
- “This evening, I don’t want to walk by the road.”
- “In the evenings (in general), I don’t like / don’t want to walk by the road.”
Which one it is depends on the wider conversation. Without extra context, both are possible. Speakers rely on context rather than verb tense endings.
Pronunciation details:
晚上
- Standard pronunciation: wǎnshang (third tone + neutral tone)
- Characters: 晚 (wǎn, 3rd tone) + 上 (neutral tone in this word)
- Learners often see 上 marked as shàng (4th tone) in dictionaries, but in 晚上 it’s read with a neutral tone.
不 before 想
- General rule: 不 is 4th tone (bù) but changes to 2nd tone (bú) before another 4th tone.
- Here, 想 xiǎng is 3rd tone, so 不 stays 4th tone: bù xiǎng.
So the key parts are:
- 晚上 – wǎnshang (3rd + neutral)
- 不想 – bù xiǎng (4th + 3rd)