I just met, again, someone using the phrase "willing". He said: "I'm willing to go." Why did he not use "want to"?
Is there any difference between the words? Any situation where you would just use one of both?
Edit:
So I did some research about it, still I'm confused about it.
I found a reference here explaining the difference. It says that "want to" means things that I really wish to do or happen. On the other hand, "willing" means to be able to do something but it isn't really the number one thing which is a priority.
But what is about a sentence like "I'm willing to wait."? "I want to wait" doesn't sound as it could mean the same. In my opinion, "ready" could be good replacement for "willing" in this content. So, when do I exactly use "willing" and when "want to"?
Best Answer
If I go to the movie theater for a 1pm showing of 'the Hobbit' and tickets are sold out for that showing, but there are still tickets for the 3pm showing, then a friend of mine might
want to wait for the next showing (3pm). This means he really desires to wait two hours.
but someone else in our group might
not be willing to wait, which means they really want to leave and probably will, which could be big trouble if he's the one with the car and we don't have another way to get home.
On the other hand the second person might say he's willing to wait. This doesn't usually express a strong desire to wait, but at least he will wait, rather than leave. It can mean that he prefers to leave, but that he'll wait just because the others want to stay and wait.
So willing to wait can show a reluctance to wait. But wanting to wait definitely expresses the desire to wait.