Sources & editorial notes
Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.
Source record: cd-3b74fb9a6609ba50. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.
Original source entry:
要 要 [yao1] /(bound form) to demand; to coerce/Source material and teaching drafts have separate provenance. Long-term commercial licensing remains under review.
Meaning and usage
Editorial draft要 () can express a want, a requirement, or an intended action. In 要…了 (…), it often presents an approaching event. It is not one all-purpose word for the future: a time phrase can locate an event, while 要 adds the speaker’s intention or view of the situation.
Name what someone wants, including when ordering.
Say what a situation requires.
Present a plan or intention.
With sentence-final 了 (le), often announce that something is about to happen.
Examples
我一杯茶。
I'd like a cup of tea.
我明天去北京。
I'm going to Beijing tomorrow.
下雨了。
It's about to rain.
坐火车买票。
You need to buy a ticket to take the train.
Word comparisons
A plan or a prediction?
我要去 ( ) commonly presents an intention to go. 我会去 ( ) can predict or assure that I will go. Neither word is simply a universal future-tense marker.
Word combinations
where are you going?
almost there
Sources & editorial notes
Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.
Source record: cd-f1efbd392c037dd1. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.
Original source entry:
要 要 [yao4] /to want; to need; to ask for/will; shall; about to/need to; should/if (same as 要是[yao4 shi5])/(bound form) important/Additional explanations and examples are editorial drafts. They have not received independent linguistic review. Audio uses an available Mandarin device voice, and its quality varies.
Editorial revision: 2026-10-28.2. Examples use tone marks, including common changes in 一 and 不.
These sources support specific usage points. They do not verify every sentence or endorse this entry.
- Wenying Zhou, Elementary Chinese II
Cross-check of 要…了 for an approaching change. Want and requirement senses also occur in the CC-CEDICT reference record.
Source material and teaching drafts have separate provenance. Long-term commercial licensing remains under review.
Audio uses a Mandarin voice available on your device. For entries with several readings, the voice chooses the pronunciation.