(yào) - to want; will; need to in Mandarin
yàoTraditional: 要
Translation
to want; will; need to
Word origin
要 (yào) means 'to want, need, will'. The character derives from an early pictograph of a person with both hands on the waist (its original sense, now written 腰 yāo with the flesh radical); the meaning 'to want, demand' is a later extension.
- Origin
- pictograph
- Root
- 要, originally depicting hands on a person's waist
Stroke order
要
Examples
。
I want a cup of tea.
？
Where do you want to go?
。
You need to get up early tomorrow.
牛。
I want a cup of hot milk.
。
We need to leave early tomorrow.
要 (yào) is a high-frequency modal and main verb with several related meanings: to want something, to be going to do something (future marker), and to need or must do something. Context disambiguates between these readings. As a future marker it is less formal than 将 (jiāng) and very common in spoken Mandarin.
The character originally depicted a woman with hands on her waist, signifying a demand or requirement. In modern usage, 要 spans casual requests ("I want..."), polite needs ("I need..."), and future intent ("I am going to..."), making it one of the most versatile words at this frequency level. Its negative form 不要 (bú yào) means "don't" in imperative sentences.
Appears in 14 words
Multi-character compounds in the corpus that contain 要.
Used in
Stories
(19)你去吗？
1 min read · Core 1000
在这里
1 min read · Core 1000
不知道在哪里
2 min read · Core 1000
点错了
2 min read · Core 1000
错过公车
3 min read · Core 1000
大伟的工作
3 min read · Core 1000
看医生
3 min read · Core 1000
迷路
3 min read · Core 1000
上班第一天
3 min read · Core 1000
生日的惊喜
3 min read · Core 1000
新邻居
3 min read · Core 1000
早上的市场
3 min read · Core 1000
最后的车
3 min read · Core 1000
今年去哪里
4 min read · Core 1000
卖东西的地方
4 min read · Core 1000
新工作的第一天
4 min read · Core 1000
错过的火车
5 min read · Core 5000
等了三年
5 min read · Core 5000
有钱没时间
5 min read · Core 5000
Grammar articles
(12)Mandarin Advanced Grammar (C1-C2 / HSK 6+): Chengyu, Classical Remnants, and Register
Mandarin Verb Conjugation: Why It Doesn't Exist and What Replaces It
Mandarin Conjunctions: 虽然…但是, 因为…所以, 如果…就 and the Paired Structures That Join Clauses
Asking How + Adjective in Mandarin with 多: 多高, 多远, 多长, 多大
Mandarin Intermediate Grammar (B1-B2 / HSK 4-5): Complements, Conjunctions and the Full 了 System
The Two 了 in Mandarin: Completion 了 After the Verb vs Change-of-State 了 at the End
Mandarin Modal Verbs: 会, 想, 要, 应该, 可以, 能 and the Future-Intent Words 打算, 准备
Mandarin Negation: 不 (bù) vs 没 (méi), and Why 不有 Does Not Exist
Mandarin Potential Complements: Can You Reach the Result? (吃得完, 听不懂, 买不起)
Mandarin Question Formation: 吗, V-Not-V, 还是, and the In-Situ Wh-Word System
Mandarin Requests and Imperatives: 请, 别, 不要, the Softening Particles 吧/啊, and Verb Reduplication
Yes-No Questions in Mandarin: 吗 (ma), Echo Answers, and the Bounce-Back 呢 (ne)
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