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yào
HSK 2.0 Level 2 HSK 3.0 Level 1

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Definitions

  1. 1. to want; to need; to ask for
  2. 2. will; shall; about to
  3. 3. need to; should
  4. 4. if (same as 要是[yào shi])
  5. 5. (bound form) important

Example Sentences

1 shown
Tom 我到機場接Mary。
Source: Tatoeba.org (ID 5364039)

Sentence data courtesy of Tatoeba.org.

Words Containing 要

非必要
fēi bì yào

inessential

要说
yào shuō

as for

死要面子
sǐ yào miàn zi

to regard face as all-important

有话要说
yǒu huà yào shuō

to speak one's mind

自要
zì yào

so long as

要犯
yào fàn

major criminal

一定要
yī dìng yào

must

要害
yào hài

vital part

简要
jiǎn yào

concise

要脸
yào liǎn

to save sb's face

权利要求
quán lì yāo qiú

claim to rights (copyright, patent etc)

要诀
yào jué

the key trick

充要条件
chōng yào tiáo jiàn

necessary and sufficient condition

要不得
yào bu de

intolerable; unacceptable

要之
yào zhī

in brief

要不
yào bù

otherwise

血债要用血来还
xuè zhài yào yòng xuè lái huán

A debt of blood must be paid in blood.

基本需要
jī běn xū yào

basic necessity

非要
fēi yào

to want absolutely; to insist on (doing sth)

需要
xū yào

to need; to want; to demand; to require

紧要
jǐn yào

critical

索要
suǒ yào

to ask for

津要
jīn yào

(literary) key location

简明扼要
jiǎn míng è yào

brief and to the point (idiom)

要隘
yào ài

strategic pass

要义
yào yì

the essentials

要死
yào sǐ

extremely

待要
dài yào

to be about to

将要
jiāng yào

will

既要当婊子又要立牌坊
jì yào dāng biǎo zi yòu yào lì pái fāng

see 又想當婊子又想立牌坊|又想当婊子又想立牌坊[yòu xiǎng dāng biǎo zi yòu xiǎng lì pái fāng]

政要
zhèng yào

important political leader

急要
jí yào

urgent

要有
yào yǒu

to need

简要介绍
jiǎn yào jiè shào

brief introduction

正中要害
zhèng zhòng yào hài

to hit the nail on the head (idiom)

要紧
yào jǐn

important

要道
yào dào

major road

要挟
yāo xié

to threaten

要角
yào jiǎo

significant role

势要
shì yào

influential figure

切要
qiè yào

essential

险要
xiǎn yào

strategically situated and easy to defend

不要
bù yào

don't!

说话要算数
shuō huà yào suàn shù

promises must be kept

血债要用血来偿
xuè zhài yào yòng xuè lái cháng

A debt of blood must be paid in blood.

想要
xiǎng yào

to want to

要好
yào hǎo

to be on good terms

要饭
yào fàn

to beg (for food or money)

必要
bì yào

necessary

要面子
yào miàn zi

see 愛面子|爱面子[ài miàn zi]

要职
yào zhí

key job

偏要
piān yào

to insist on doing sth

重要性
zhòng yào xìng

importance

收购要约
shōu gòu yāo yuē

takeover bid

齐民要术
qí mín yào shù

Essential skill to benefit the people, sixth century encyclopedia of agricultural knowledge by Jia Sixie 賈思勰|贾思勰[jiǎ sī xié]

就要
jiù yào

will

要人
yào rén

important person

紧要关头
jǐn yào guān tóu

urgent and important moment (idiom); critical juncture

要账
yào zhàng

to demand repayment

要加牛奶
yào jiā niú nǎi

with milk

要端
yào duān

the main points

要津
yào jīn

key post

切中要害
qiè zhòng yào hài

to hit the target and do real damage (idiom)

不要在一棵树上吊死
bù yào zài yī kē shù shàng diào sǐ

don't insist on only taking one road to Rome (idiom)

要得
yào dé

good

不要脸
bù yào liǎn

to have no sense of shame; shameless

不必要
bù bì yào

needless; unnecessary

高要市
gāo yào shì

Gaoyao, county-level city in Zhaoqing 肇慶|肇庆[zhào qìng], Guangdong

重要
zhòng yào

important

若要人不知,除非己莫为
ruò yào rén bù zhī , chú fēi jǐ mò wéi

If you don't want anyone to know, don't do it (idiom). fig. If you do something bad, people will inevitably hear about it.

要看
yào kàn

it depends on...

得要
děi yào

to need

要谎
yào huǎng

to ask an enormous price (as first negotiating step)

不得要领
bù dé yào lǐng

to fail to grasp the main points

要着
yào zhuó

important thing

要西了
yào xī le

(coll.) unbearable (Shanghainese)

首要
shǒu yào

the most important

次要
cì yào

secondary

提要
tí yào

summary

要员
yào yuán

key participant

死不要脸
sǐ bù yào liǎn

to know no shame

要击
yāo jī

to intercept

出来混迟早要还的
chū lái hùn chí zǎo yào huán de

if you live a life of crime, sooner or later you'll pay for it

无关紧要
wú guān jǐn yào

indifferent

硬要
yìng yào

firmly set on doing sth

只要功夫深,铁杵磨成针
zhǐ yào gōng fu shēn , tiě chǔ mó chéng zhēn

If you work at it hard enough, you can grind an iron bar into a needle.

不要紧
bù yào jǐn

unimportant

要么
yào me

or

显要
xiǎn yào

prominent; eminent

要著
yào zhù

important book

要晕
yāo yūn

confused

要风得风,要雨得雨
yào fēng dé fēng , yào yǔ dé yǔ

to get whatever one wants

须要
xū yào

must; have to

要领
yào lǐng

main aspects

要目
yào mù

important substance (of a document)

正要
zhèng yào

to be just about to

纲要
gāng yào

outline

要子
yào zi

straw rope

要政
yào zhèng

important governmental or administrative matter

漫天要价
màn tiān yào jià

to ask for sky-high prices

纪要
jì yào

minutes

会要
huì yào

dynastic records of imperial China

要命
yào mìng

to cause sb's death

要塞
yào sài

fort

要言不烦
yào yán bù fán

to explain in simple terms

要冲
yào chōng

road hub

要地
yào dì

strategic location

要强
yào qiáng

eager to excel

要嘛
yào ma

either ...

要价
yào jià

to ask a price; to charge

要图
yào tú

main plan

要不是
yào bu shì

if it were not for

要径
yào jìng

important path

要是
yào shi

(coll.) if

需要是发明之母
xū yào shì fā míng zhī mǔ

Necessity is the mother of invention (European proverb).

主要
zhǔ yào

main

要旨
yào zhǐ

the gist (of a text or argument)

高要
gāo yào

Gaoyao, county-level city in Zhaoqing 肇慶|肇庆[zhào qìng], Guangdong

要死不活
yào sǐ bù huó

half dead

武经总要
wǔ jīng zǒng yào

\Collection of the Most Important Military Techniques\, book published in 1044 during the Northern Song Dynasty

概要
gài yào

outline

总要
zǒng yào

nevertheless

要务
yào wù

key task

必要条件
bì yào tiáo jiàn

requirement

要求
yāo qiú

to request

要件
yào jiàn

key document

吃拿卡要
chī ná qiǎ yào

dinner invitations, grabbing, obstructing and demanding bribes

摘要
zhāi yào

summary

要约
yāo yuē

to restrict

要闻
yào wén

important news story

要略
yào lüe4

roughly

战略要点
zhàn lüe4 yào diǎn

strategic point

大要
dà yào

abstract

要点
yào diǎn

main point

只要
zhǐ yào

if only

扼要
è yào

to the point

要路
yào lù

important road

要死要活
yào sǐ yào huó

terribly

要枢
yào shū

important traffic hub

要不然
yào bù rán

otherwise

必要性
bì yào xìng

necessity

要素
yào sù

essential factor

刀不磨要生锈,人不学要落后
dāo bù mó yào shēng xiù , rén bù xué yào luò hòu

a blade will get rusty if it is not sharpened; a man will fall behind if he doesn't study (idiom)

要钱
yào qián

to charge

天要落雨,娘要嫁人
tiān yào luò yǔ , niáng yào jià rén

the rain will fall, the womenfolk will marry (idiom)

快要
kuài yào

nearly at the point of (doing sth); about to (do sth)

要事
yào shì

important matter

死要面子活受罪
sǐ yào miàn zi huó shòu zuì

to go through hell for the sake of keeping up appearances (idiom)

至关重要
zhì guān zhòng yào

extremely important