Writing
要 (yào) — how to say "to want" in Chinese
要
To want, need, to intend to do something
modal verb
How to use it
Goes before another verb.
我要回家。
wǒ yào huí jiā
I want to go home.
Radicals / Keys
襾
Cover
#146 · yà · 6 strokes
Synonyms
得
must, have to, need to
děi · colloquial, spoken obligation
Collocations
要一个
yào yí ge
to want one
要咖啡
yào kāfēi
to want coffee
Examples
我明天要考试，所以早睡。
I have an exam tomorrow, so I go to bed early.
我要水
I want water.
Mnemonic
[yào-] Yoda is meditating in the forest when he spots the 要 character carved into a tree trunk. It seems to point the way, suggesting he needs or wants to travel in that direction. Trusting in the Force 🌳, Yoda sets out on a new adventure, curious to see where the path of 要 leads him.
Frequently asked questions
How to say do you want in Chinese?
"to want" in Chinese is 要 (yào).
要 meaning in English
要 (yào) means "To want, need, to intend to do something".
How is 要 pronounced?
It is pronounced yào (written as yao). You can listen to the pronunciation on this page.
How do you write "to want" in Chinese characters?
It is written 要 and has 9 strokes. The Writing section above animates the stroke order and lets you trace it.
What HSK level is 要?
要 belongs to the HSK 2 vocabulary list.
Tomyo
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Grammar with 要
要 — want, need, going to
要 (yào) + Noun / 要 (yào) + Verb
要 — be going to, will
Subj. + 要 (yào) + Verb (+ 了 (le))
不要 — negative commands
不要 (búyào) + Verb
就要 — about to happen
(还有 (háiyǒu) + Time Period) + 就要 (jiùyào) + Verb Phrase + 了 (le)
要 — wanting to do something
要 (yào) + Verb
只要 — as long as
只要 (zhǐyào) + Condition, 就 (jiù) + Result