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I noticed many Chinese words have the same or similar meanings but they are not exchangeable. In many cases it is hard to decide which one to choose. Can anyone tell the subtle difference between 志愿, 意愿, and 心愿?
For example, I never heard anyone say "你的生日意愿是什么". Usually you heard "你的生日心愿是什么". But both 意愿 and 心愿 are "wish" in English.
Consider, in English, a single word can have more than one meaning, and two different words may have a function overlapped.
For example:
'Goal' can be replaced by 'wish' in some instances - e.g. "My Goal(wish) is to become a doctor"
'Dream' can be replaced by 'wish' in some instances - e.g. " My Dream(wish) is to become a doctor"
'Will' can be replaced by 'wish' in some instances - e.g. " To become a doctor is my will(wish)"
As for the difference between 志愿, 意愿 and 心愿
志愿 mainly mean: Goal; Dream
意愿 mainly mean: Will; Desire
心愿 mainly mean: Desire; Wish
All three above can mean 'Wish'
我的志愿（愿望）是成为一名医生 - My goal (wish) is to become a doctor
我的意愿（愿望）是成为一名医生 - My will (wish) is to become a doctor
我的心愿（愿望）是成为一名医生 - My desire (wish) is to become a doctor
The important thing is, it all depends on the context.
The best term for "Wish" in "What is your birthday wish?" is '愿望' As in "你的生日愿望是什么"
Yes, 愿望 mainly mean 'wish' (n) but in some instances, you can translate it to 'desire, hope or dream'
Some more tips:
Use 志愿 if the wish is also an achievable goal (志 means goal, 志愿 = a wish you aim to achieve)
Use 意愿 if the wish is a determined one (意 means mind, 意愿 = a wish you have made up your mind to fulfill)
Use 心愿 if the wish is also a deep desire or a life long dream (心 means heart, 心愿 = a wish comes from your heart)
They all end up with the word 愿, meaning merely "wish", so we can try to focus on the first character.
志 is short for 志向, which is related to "job" and "direction", namely, what kind of JOB you would wish to accomplish, in addition to the implication that you are HEADING TO or will HEAD TO achieve it. Resolve is required if you use this.
Ex: 我的志愿是做医生。(Doctor is a JOB)
意 means "mind", namely, whether you are WILLING TO do A or do B,C,D,etc. You are confronted with finite choices if you are using 意愿. You would also use it when you want to say "I wish to do A INSTEAD OF B". Again, resolve is required if you use this.
Ex: 我的意愿是做医生。(Instead of a lawyer, etc.)
心 means "heart", and is simply talking about what you wish to happen. This one focuses on your FEELING or INCLINATION, so is usually translated "desire".
Ex: 我的心愿是做医生。-> I desire to be a doctor. (because sth touched my heart)
