要
yào
- Pinyin
- yào
- Pinyin (Plain)
- yao
- Tone
- 4
- Strokes
- 9
- Radical
- 襾
- Readings
- yàoyaoTone: 4(bound form) to demand; to coerceOrder: 0Primary
- Stroke Order Code
- Speed
- Stroke Order Data
- ["M 593 768 Q 707 792 709 793 Q 718 800 714 808 Q 708 821 680 829 Q 650 838 550 808 Q 424 787 347 783 Q 311 779 336 761 Q 375 736 429 745 Q 486 754 546 762 L 593 768 Z", "M 300 617 Q 285 623 248 627 Q 235 628 233 623 Q 227 616 237 601 Q 270 550 295 464 Q 301 437 319 422 Q 338 403 342 418 Q 343 422 343 429 L 341 456 Q 340 466 337 476 Q 318 546 310 579 C 303 608 301 617 300 617 Z", "M 656 459 Q 672 431 688 421 Q 698 412 716 433 Q 728 449 761 540 Q 773 573 798 598 Q 813 611 802 626 Q 786 645 742 675 Q 721 685 704 679 Q 661 670 606 662 L 558 656 Q 507 649 452 640 L 405 633 Q 347 624 300 617 C 270 613 281 571 310 579 Q 353 591 410 600 L 453 608 Q 499 617 556 624 L 600 628 Q 619 632 641 634 Q 689 640 703 623 Q 712 613 709 601 Q 684 493 667 486 C 652 466 652 466 656 459 Z", "M 452 640 Q 452 665 454 673 Q 457 692 444 704 Q 425 719 400 727 Q 388 731 380 726 Q 373 720 379 707 Q 391 685 405 633 L 410 600 Q 414 554 423 466 C 426 436 459 440 458 470 Q 454 552 453 607 Q 452 608 453 608 L 452 640 Z", "M 606 662 Q 607 668 608 673 Q 611 688 627 733 Q 631 742 616 755 Q 604 762 593 768 C 567 783 531 788 546 762 Q 558 750 560 689 Q 559 674 558 656 L 556 624 Q 550 557 541 482 C 537 452 571 457 576 487 Q 588 560 600 628 L 606 662 Z", "M 450 438 Q 562 453 656 459 C 686 461 694 474 667 486 Q 660 490 652 492 Q 619 499 576 487 L 541 482 Q 498 478 458 470 L 423 466 Q 380 462 341 456 C 311 452 313 430 343 429 Q 355 428 372 429 Q 394 433 419 434 L 450 438 Z", "M 456 329 Q 465 353 485 381 Q 494 388 491 397 Q 487 410 450 438 C 427 457 414 464 419 434 Q 428 413 415 357 Q 409 341 404 324 L 388 283 Q 370 243 352 217 Q 342 199 345 187 Q 348 177 365 173 Q 447 152 483 125 L 526 101 Q 596 61 695 -17 Q 720 -38 738 -37 Q 759 -37 759 -17 Q 759 2 730 48 Q 714 79 561 138 L 513 157 Q 453 182 409 193 Q 388 197 400 217 Q 419 257 434 287 L 456 329 Z", "M 643 351 Q 631 367 616 376 Q 597 391 587 389 Q 577 386 578 375 Q 579 360 579 343 L 573 299 Q 563 232 513 157 L 483 125 Q 480 124 479 122 Q 398 62 240 39 Q 230 39 225 36 Q 218 33 227 27 Q 231 24 246 23 Q 340 17 413 39 Q 468 54 526 101 L 561 138 Q 604 196 633 278 Q 637 291 642 301 C 653 329 656 336 643 351 Z", "M 642 301 Q 730 305 839 301 Q 872 300 901 300 Q 925 299 930 309 Q 937 322 918 339 Q 855 388 784 373 Q 723 364 643 351 L 579 343 Q 491 337 456 329 L 404 324 Q 271 312 124 298 Q 99 297 116 275 Q 152 239 197 249 Q 288 271 388 283 L 434 287 Q 443 290 454 290 Q 506 297 573 299 L 642 301 Z"]
- Meaning
- “要” most often means “to want” or “to need” (e.g., 我**要**水 = I want/need water) and is also used to talk about future or planned actions, similar to “be going to” or “will” (e.g., 我**要**走了 = I’m going to leave). In other contexts it can mean “important” (重要) or “to demand/ask for” (e.g., 老师**要**我们认真学习 = The teacher wants/asks us to study carefully).
- Metadata
- Locale: enCached At: 3/24/2026, 7:19:46 PM
Usage
“要” is most commonly used as a verb or modal meaning “to want” or “to need,” and as a way to talk about future or planned actions. For example, 我不要 (“I don’t want [it]”), 我要喝水 (“I want to drink water”), or 明天要下雨了 (“It’s going to rain tomorrow”). In everyday speech and textbooks, learners quickly meet 要 in patterns like 要不要…? for offering/asking (“Do you want…?”) and in sentences showing intention or plan, such as 我们要去北京 (“We are going to Beijing”). It often signals a strong intention or necessity compared with softer modals like 想 (“would like to”). “要” is also very common in set expressions and as part of multi‑character words. As a standalone adjective it can mean “important” or “necessary,” as in 主要 (“main, primary”) and 要紧 (“important, serious”). It appears inside many HSK‑level vocabulary items like 需要 (“to need”), 要求 (“to demand; requirement”), 重要 (“important”), and 不要紧 (“it doesn’t matter; it’s not serious”). In these cases it usually carries a sense related to “importance,” “necessity,” or “demand,” which is a natural extension of its basic “to want/need” meaning that learners first encounter.
Handwriting Notes
要 is usually written as a fairly compact, slightly wide rectangle: the top part looks like a shallow “lid,” and the bottom part (女) is smaller and centered underneath. In handwriting, the upper strokes are often simplified into a smooth, continuous shape: the first horizontal and the two short diagonal “horns” may connect fluidly, and the vertical hook in the middle can be short and not perfectly straight. The lower 女 component is often compressed, with the left-falling stroke longer, and the crossing strokes may touch or merge rather than forming clean, angular intersections as in printed fonts. Handwritten forms can vary in how angular or rounded they look and in how clearly the top and bottom parts are separated. Some writers make the top seem almost like a curved “roof,” others keep it more boxy; the lower 女 can be more open or more tightly folded, and stroke connections may blur in fast writing. Despite these differences, the overall silhouette—broad top, narrow bottom, and a central vertical element—is quite stable. Modern AI handwriting recognition systems are trained on many such handwritten variants so they can reliably recognize 要 even when strokes are joined, slightly distorted, or written quickly.
Description
要 is a common character meaning “to want,” “to need,” or “will/going to” (as a modal verb before another verb). It can also mean “important” in some contexts. It is pronounced yào in Mandarin Chinese.
Common Words
- 要yao4to want; to need; to ask for
- 要么yao4 me5or
- 将要jiang1 yao4will
- 就要jiu4 yao4will
- 要得yao4 de2good
Example Sentences
我喜欢要。
wo3 xi3 huan5 yao4
I like to want; to need; to ask for.
要么很常见。
yao4 me5 hen3 chang2 jian4
要么 is very common.
我们在学习将要。
wo3 men5 zai4 xue2 xi2 jiang1 yao4
We are learning will.
这个就要很重要。
zhe4 ge5 jiu4 yao4 hen3 zhong4 yao4
This will is important.
请写一下“要”。
qing3 xie3 yi1 xia4 yao4
Please write '要'.