要
yāo
#26 most
frequent character
(bound form) to demand, to coerce
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
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