要 yào want
want; will; must
yào (to want; must) and yāo (to demand): 需要 xūyào to need, 要求 yāoqiú to require
How to remember 要: 覀 west + 女 woman = want. In the west wing of the shoe shop the woman points at the red boots and says "Those are the ones I want!"
Component breakdown
象形 · Pictogram
A drawing of the thing it means.
要 = 覀 west + 女 woman
- 覀 west
- 女 woman
In the west wing of the shoe shop the woman points at the red boots and says "Those are the ones I want!"
How it came to be
The bronze form is a person pointing both hands at the waist, under a big eye; waist was the first meaning.
How it is used
- Read from context as want / will / must: 我要茶 (wǒ yào chá) I want tea, 要下雨了 (yào xià yǔ le) it's about to rain, 要小心 (yào xiǎoxīn) must be careful.
- Want to do is 要 + verb; its negative splits: 不要 (bú yào) means don't! (a prohibition), while don't want is 不想 (bù xiǎng).
- Read yāo it means to ask for or to demand: 要求 (yāoqiú) to request, a demand.
Characters built with 要
Words with 要
- 不要búyàodon't!HSK 1
- 快要kuàiyàonearly at the point of (doing something)HSK 2
- 只要zhǐyàoso long asHSK 3
- 需要xūyàoto needHSK 3
- 重要zhòngyàoimportantHSK 3
- 要求yāoqiúdemandHSK 3
- 主要zhǔyàomainHSK 3
- 要是yàoshiifHSK 4
- 将要jiāngyàowillHSK 4
- 不要紧búyàojǐnunimportantHSK 5
- 必要bìyàonecessaryHSK 5
- 要不yàobùotherwiseHSK 5
- 要不是yàobúshìif it were not forHSK 5
- 至关重要zhìguān-zhòngyàoextremely importantHSK 6
- 要么yàomeorHSK 6
- 要点yàodiǎnmain pointHSK 6
- 要素yàosùessential factorHSK 6
- 首要shǒuyàothe most importantHSK 6
- 无关紧要wúguān-jǐnyàoindifferentHSK 7
- 次要cìyàosecondaryHSK 7
- 简要jiǎnyàoconciseHSK 7
- 纪要jìyàominutesHSK 7
- 要命yàomìngto cause somebody's deathHSK 7
- 要好yàohǎoto be on good termsHSK 7
- 要害yàohàivital partHSK 7
- 要紧yàojǐnimportantHSK 7
- 摘要zhāiyàosummaryHSK 8
- 纲要gāngyàooutlineHSK 9
- 要强yàoqiángeager to excelHSK 9
- 要领yàolǐngmain aspectsHSK 9
Example sentences
- 吃饭前要洗手。 Chīfàn qián yào xǐshǒu.We have to wash our hands before eating.
- 她最近就要出国了。 Tā zuìjìn jiùyào chūguó le.She will go abroad soon.
- 我忘记要做什么了。 Wǒ wàngjì yào zuò shénme le.I forgot what to do.
- 下雨了，可是我还是要出门。 Xiàyǔ le, kěshì wǒ háishi yào chūmén.Even though it's raining I still have to go out.