| Trad. | Simp. | Pinyin | English |
| 要 | yāo | demand; ask; request; coerce | |
| 要求 | yāo qiú | request; require; stake a claim (to something); to ask; to demand | |
| 要 | yào | important; vital; to want; to be going to; must | |
| 要不 | yào bu | otherwise; or; or else | |
| 要不然 | yào bu rán | otherwise; or else; or | |
| 要部然 | yào bu rán | otherwise | |
| 要不是 | yào bu shì | if it were not for; but for | |
| 要得 | yào dé | good; fine | |
| 要地 | yào dì | strategic location | |
| 要點 | 要点 | yào diǎn | main point; essential |
| 要飯 | 要饭 | yào fàn | beg (for food or money) |
| 要好 | yào hǎo | be on good terms; be close friends | |
| 要花 | yào huā | cost; raise (price); bring (a price) | |
| 要緊 | 要紧 | yào jǐn | important; urgent |
| 要領 | 要领 | yào lǐng | (n) main aspects; essentials; gist |
| 要麼 | 要么 | yào me | (conj) either X or Y (used when given a choice between two things) |
| 要命 | yào mìng | (v) cause sb to die; (adj) extremely; frighteningly; very; (adj) annoyance | |
| 要人 | yào rén | important person | |
| 要塞 | yào sāi | stronghold | |
| 要食物不要炸彈 | 要食物不要炸弹 | Yào shí wù bù yào zhà dàn | Food Not Bombs |
| 要是 | yào shì | if | |
| 要素 | yào sù | essential; factor; constituent | |
| 要有 | yào yǒu | need; require |
Click on the pinyin to hear it pronounced. The simplified version is shown only if different from the traditional.
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