Chinese–EnglishWith examples

要

yāo · yao/yào · yao

Same in simplified and traditional Chinese

HSK 1Old HSK 2

Meaning

CC-CEDICT

yāo 要

  1. (bound form) to demand; to coerce

yào 要

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

0:15 cartoon

Noodle order

  1. Liangliang

    你(nǐ)要(yào)吃(chī)什么(shénme)？

    What do you want to eat?

  2. Dengdeng

    我(wǒ)要(yào)一(yī)碗(wǎn)面(miàn)，不要(bùyào)辣(là)。

    I want a bowl of noodles, not spicy.

  3. Liangliang

    好(hǎo)。老板(lǎobǎn)，我(wǒ)要(yào)一(yī)碗(wǎn)特辣(tèlà)的(de)！

    OK. Boss, I want a bowl of extra spicy!

  4. Dengdeng

    特辣(tèlà)？你(nǐ)真(zhēn)要(yào)吃(chī)这么(zhème)辣(là)的(de)？

    Extra spicy? You really want to eat something that spicy?

  5. Liangliang

    对(duì)，我(wǒ)还(hái)要(yào)一(yī)大(dà)杯(bēi)水(shuǐ)。

    Yes, and I also want a big cup of water.

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In a sentence

2 examples
01

汤(tāng)姆(mǔ)已(yǐ)经(jīng)下(xià)定(dìng)决(jué)心(xīn)要(yào)去(qù)波(bō)士(shì)顿(dùn)念(niàn)书(shū)。

Tom has made up his mind to go to Boston to study.

Tatoeba: Chinese by umidake · English by CK · CC BY 2.0 FR. Simplified Chinese conversion; Pinyin added or corrected.

02

我(wǒ)必(bì)须(xū)要(yào)换(huàn)衣(yī)服(fu)，因(yīn)为(wèi)我(wǒ)现(xiàn)在(zài)穿(chuān)的(de)衣(yī)服(fu)不(bú)适(shì)合(hé)这(zhè)个(ge)环(huán)境(jìng)。

I had to change clothes because what I was wearing wasn't appropriate for the situation.

Tatoeba: Chinese by CLARET · English by CK · CC BY 2.0 FR. Pinyin added or corrected.

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How to write

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Mainland China stroke order, including traditional characters. Drawing sources & licenses.

Definitions adapted from CC-CEDICT, published by MDBG and its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Pinyin display and entry grouping have been adapted.

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