Quick answer
Я хочу́ = I want. Мне хо́чется = I feel like. The second is softer, vaguer and very common.
хочу́ or хо́чется?
| Form | Feel | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Я хочу́… | direct, deliberate | Я хочу́ ко́фе. |
| Мне хо́чется… | a mood, a craving | Мне хо́чется ко́фе. |
| Мне не хо́чется… | I don’t feel like it | Мне не хо́чется идти́. |
Мне не хо́чется is noticeably politer than я не хочу́ as a refusal, because it describes a mood rather than a decision.
The family
All of them share one shape: dative person, impersonal verb or adverb, no nominative subject anywhere. English has to invent an “I” for these; Russian does not.
Why it matters
These constructions change what your sentence says about agency. Я не сплю means I am awake, possibly by choice. Мне не спи́тся means sleep will not come — nothing to do with me. Learners who only know the nominative pattern end up sounding oddly forceful about things they did not choose.
Not a reflexive
The -ся in хо́чется and спи́тся is not reflexive in meaning — nobody is doing anything to themselves. It simply marks the verb as impersonal, and these forms exist only in the third person singular.
Typical mistakes
Я хо́чется ко́фе.
Мне хо́чется ко́фе.
The person is dative; the verb is impersonal.
Я нра́влюсь э́то.
Мне нра́вится э́то.
The thing liked is the subject.
Check yourself
Which is correct?