VocabHackerBeta
VH
DictionaryVocab Lists
Sign in
Sign in
Sign up

要

yào
HSK 3
#26 most
frequent character
important, vital, to want, will
verb
adjective

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

要 first showed two hands grabbing a woman's waist, so it meant 'waist'. The modern form keeps 女 woman, while 覀 is now an empty part. The meaning 'to want' was borrowed for its sound, and from there came 'will' and 'must'.

Drawn as: hands grabbing waist; woman

要 as a component in other characters

meaning1 character
腰
sound2 characters
腰崾

Ask DeepSeek

Example Sentences

我想要一个苹果。
wǒ xiǎngyào yígè píngguǒ 。
I want an apple.
你要去哪里？
nǐyào qù nǎlǐ ？
Where are you going?
这件事情很重要。
zhè jiàn shìqíng hěn zhòngyào 。
This matter is very important.

Grammar Points

HSK 2
Auxiliary verb "yao" and its multiple meanings
HSK 2
Expressing "be going to" with "yao"
HSK 2
Wanting to do something with "yao"
HSK 2
Comparing "yao" and "xiang"

Same Characters, Different Readings

要yāo
(bound form) to demand, to coerce

Words with similar meanings

想要xiǎngyào
to desire
A more formal expression of wishing for something.
必须bìxū
must
Conveys obligation or necessity, a stronger sense than '要'.

Homophones

耀yào
brilliant, glorious

Words Starting With 要

要不yào bù
"otherwise; or; or else; how about...? (one choice or the other); either this, or else..."
要是yào shi
if
要不然yào bù rán
otherwise; or else; or
要命yào mìng
to cause sb's death; very; extremely; frightening; annoying
要点yào diǎn
main point; essential

Your word lists

Sign in to add this word to your private lists.

Public Lists with 要

Basic Verbs
Core action verbs like 'go,' 'come,' 'eat,' 'see,' commonly encountered in HSK.
HSK 3
All words for the HSK 3 test
Common Adjectives
Descriptive words for size, quality, temperature, mood, and more.