yàoyāo

want

Original meaning: 

waist

Pictograph of two hands grabbing a woman's () waist. The current meaning "want" is a phonetic loan. The original meaning "waist" is now written as .

Components
◎ iconic component

  Iconic component

  

characterless component

Depicts two hands grabbing a waist.

女 iconic component

  Iconic component

  

woman

Evolution

要 Seal script Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)
要 Clerical script Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Clerical script

Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
要 Regular script Modern

Regular script

Modern
Definitions

 

yào

necessary, essential; necessity; important; vital; to want; to ask for; will; going to (as future auxiliary); may; must; (used in a comparison) must be; probably; if

 

yāo

to demand; to request; to coerce

Most common words with 要
Freq.
Word
Meaning

vital

需要

to need

不要

don't!

重要

important

要求

to request

Component uses

Sound component in 3 characters (2 verified)

Remnant component in 1 character (1 verified)