About
The character 要 (yào) originated as a pictograph of a person with hands on their waist, representing the anatomical waist. Its structure combines the upper component 襾 (yà), which serves as a phonetic element, with the lower component 女 (nǚ), meaning woman. Although the modern form resembles 西 over 女, the character's primary meaning gradually shifted from the physical body part to abstract concepts like "important", "vital", or "essential". To preserve the original anatomical meaning, the character 腰 (yāo) was later created by adding the flesh radical 月 (yuè) to specifically denote the waist.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
我要吃苹果。
我明天要去学校。
你不要忘记带书包。
我们必须要努力学习。
你想要喝茶还是咖啡？
这封信要寄到上海。
要是下雨，我们就不去了。
完成这个项目需要大家共同努力。