要 yào — important; need · English

要

yào

important; need

At a glance · 要

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Evolution of the glyph

Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seen
Oracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCE
Seal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCE
Clerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CE
Regular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

⚠ Some ancient forms are not attested：oracle bone form、seal script form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.

甲骨文象人手叉腰之形（本义为腰），后借为「重要、关键、需要」。小篆作「要」。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

本义为腰，假借为重要、需要。

Structure

会意字，甲骨文象叉腰；假借为虚词/形容词。

At a glance

Pinyinyào

Radical覀

Strokes9

UnicodeU+8981

Character type会意

Theme虚词

Six languages, one character

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English important; need Important; also to need or key point.

Français important; besoin Important ; aussi besoin ou point clé.

Español importante; necesitar Importante ; también necesitar.

العربية مهم؛ يحتاج مهم؛ ويُستعار لـ«يحتاج».

Русский важный; нужно Важный; также нужно.

Common words

重要zhòng yàoimportant
需要xū yàoneed

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