wanna
- 01 A2 Elementary
a casual way to say 'want to' when followed by another verb.
A colloquial contraction of 'want to' used before a verb; it is restricted to contexts where 'to' is not a preposition.
Simple“I really wanna go to the cinema tonight if you are free.”
In context“Most people wanna believe that their hard work will eventually be recognised by the management, even without constant self-promotion.”
UsageUsed only in informal speech and writing; never appropriate for formal essays or business correspondence.
PitfallI wanna the beach. I want to go to the beach.In this sense, 'wanna' replaces 'want to' before a verb. You cannot use it as a replacement for the preposition 'to' in 'go to'.
Synonymswant to - 02 B1 Intermediate
a casual way to say 'want a' when followed by a noun.
A colloquial contraction of 'want a' used before a noun phrase.
Simple“Do you wanna drink or are you not thirsty yet?”
In context“If you wanna sandwich, you should probably grab one now before the café closes for the afternoon break.”
UsageLess common in writing than the 'want to' sense, but frequent in rapid, casual speech.
Synonymswant a
Contractions. Attested as early as 1824.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.