Kilo Lingo

(bì yào) - necessary, essential in Mandarin

bìyào

Traditional: 必要

Line drawing of 必要
Coloured illustration of 必要
HSK 4
#813 of 5,000 Core 1000

Translation

necessary, essential

Word origin

A two-character word: 必 'must, certainly' plus 要 'to want, to need' (originally a pictograph of a woman with hands at the waist). Together 必要 means necessary or essential.

Origin
compound
Root
必 (must) + 要 (want, need)

Stroke order

Stroke order for 必

必

Stroke order for 要

要

Examples

。

This is necessary.

？

Is it necessary to go to the hospital?

。

It is necessary to be well prepared.

。

There is no need to wait any longer.

笔bǐ。

Taking notes is necessary.

必要 (bì yào) means necessary, essential. It is used as an adjective in everyday Mandarin speech.

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Mandarin · Free printables

必要: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "必要" (necessary, essential): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.

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This word is part of lesson 17.