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要 — to want; to need; to ask for

to want; to need; to ask for; will; shall; about to

Pinyin
yào · yāo
Strokes
9
HSK level
HSK 1
Handwriting
required

This character has more than one reading — yào, yāo — and the pronunciation depends on the word it appears in. The list below gives the syllabus reading for each word.

How to write 要: 9 strokes

Each cell adds one stroke to the previous ones, with the new stroke in red. Stroke order is not decoration: it sets the proportions of the character and makes handwriting legible to a reader. This character is on the HSK handwriting list, so the exam expects you to write it, not only recognise it.

要 — 9 strokes, in writing order from left to right.

Build a printable practice sheet with 要

Words with 要 in the HSK syllabus: 31

Every word in the official 2026 syllabus that contains this character, with the level it is introduced at. Learning a character pays off through these: each one combines with the characters you already know.

  1. 不要búyàodon't!; must notHSK 1
  2. 要yàoto want; to need; to ask for; will; shall; about toHSK 1
  3. 快要kuàiyàonearly at the point of; about toHSK 2
  4. 需要xūyàoto need; to want; to demand; to require; needsHSK 3
  5. 要求yāoqiúto request; to require; requirementHSK 3
  6. 只要zhǐyàoso long as; provided; ifHSK 3
  7. 重要zhòngyàoimportant; significant; majorHSK 3
  8. 主要zhǔyàomain; principal; major; primaryHSK 3
  9. 将要jiāngyàowill; shall; to be going toHSK 4
  10. 要是yàoshiifHSK 4
  11. 必要bìyàonecessary; essential; indispensable; requiredHSK 5
  12. 不要紧búyàojǐnunimportant; not serious; it doesn't matterHSK 5
  13. 要不yàobùotherwise; or else; how about...?; either...HSK 5
  14. 要不是yàobúshìif it were not for; but forHSK 5
  15. 首要shǒuyàothe most important; of chief importanceHSK 6
  16. 要点yàodiǎnmain point; essentialHSK 6
  17. 要么yàomeor; either one or the otherHSK 6
  18. 要素yàosùessential factor; key constituentHSK 6
  19. 至关重要zhìguān-zhòngyàoextremely important; vital; crucial; essentialHSK 6
  20. 次要cìyàosecondaryHSK 7–9
  21. 纲要gāngyàooutline; essential pointsHSK 7–9
  22. 纪要jìyàominutes; written summary of a meetingHSK 7–9
  23. 简要jiǎnyàoconcise; briefHSK 7–9
  24. 无关紧要wúguān-jǐnyàoindifferent; insignificantHSK 7–9
  25. 要害yàohàivital part; key point; crucialHSK 7–9
  26. 要好yàohǎoto be on good terms; to be close friendsHSK 7–9
  27. 要紧yàojǐnimportant; urgentHSK 7–9
  28. 要领yàolǐngmain aspects; essentials; gistHSK 7–9
  29. 要命yàomìngto cause sb's death; extremely; terriblyHSK 7–9
  30. 要强yàoqiángeager to excel; eager to get ahead in lifeHSK 7–9
  31. 摘要zhāiyàosummary; abstractHSK 7–9

Glosses come from CC-CEDICT, used under CC BY-SA 4.0, and are the dictionary’s first sense rather than a translation chosen for context.