This article analyzes Chinese modal verbs of wish, such as 要 yao (‘need’, ‘ask’, ‘want’, ‘need’, ‘will’, ‘to’), 想 xiǎng (‘think’, ‘suppose’, ‘want’, ‘miss’), 愿意 yuanyi (‘willing to want’, ‘desire’), 敢 gǎn (‘dare’, ‘not to be afraid’, ‘dare’), 敢于 gǎnyu (‘dare’, ‘not to be afraid’, ‘dare’), 肯 kěn (‘agree’, ‘willingly’); investigates their grammatical characteristics, semantics and features of their actual use. Goals. The paper aims to examine the similarities and differences in the use of the above mentioned Chinese modal verbs of wish. Methods. The article surveys a number of various works by Chinese scholars dealing with modal verbs of wish in the Chinese language, and applies the generalizing and comparative research methods. Results. The modal verb 要 yao can express wish, necessity and possibility; the verb 敢 gǎn, besides expressing courage to do something, also expresses confidence in assessments. But acting as modal verbs, 要 yao and 敢 gǎn have the meaning of wish, as well as 想 xiǎng, 愿意 yuanyi, 敢于 gǎnyu, 肯 kěn. The first meaning of 要 yao is that of wish and decision of a subject of action, i.e., ‘intention to do something’. The second meaning of要yao is ‘must, should’, the modal meaning being ‘need and duty’ as external conditions make it necessary to perform the action. The third meaning that the verb 要 yao expresses is a modal meaning of possibility. The verb 想 xiǎng can act not only as a full verb but also as a modal verb. As a modal verb, 想 xiǎng can only express the meaning of wish. The verb 想 xiǎng expresses an indefinite assumption of the subject of action. Consequently, the verb 想 xiǎng, in addition to the modal meaning of wish, also expresses the meaning of assumption. At the same time, the meaning of ‘speculation and evaluation’ does not cluster with modal use patterns of the verb想 xiǎng. The verb 愿意 yuanyi (‘wish’) fully meets the criteria for the classification of modal verbs of wish. The modal verb 敢 gǎn expresses the meaning ‘courage to do something’, it also stands for ‘confidence in evaluating something’. The verb 敢于 gǎnyu can only express courage. The verb 肯 kěn expresses the subjective wish to do something voluntarily; expresses approval of requirements. Conclusions. The paper concludes that the grammatical characteristics of the verbs 要 yao, 想 xiǎng, 愿意 yuanyi, 敢 gǎn,敢于gǎnyu, 肯kěn coincide with those of modal verbs of wish, therefore these verbs can well be classified as modal verbs of wish. Thus, in modern Chinese, typical verbs of wish include the following verbs: 要 yao, 想 xiǎng, 愿意 yuanyi, 敢 gǎn , 敢于 gǎnyu, 肯 kěn.