Common Meanings
1
yào要
To ask for, to demand (e.g., payment, a price).
他向老板要加薪
He asked his boss for a raise.
To want to be; to wish to achieve or excel.
她从小就特别要强，凡事都要做到最好。
She has been particularly strong-willed since childhood, always wanting to do everything perfectly.
to ask; to request (someone to do something)
妈妈要我早点回家。
Mom asked me to come home early.
Important; significant; essential; crucial.
掌握学习要领才能事半功倍。
Mastering the essential methods of learning can lead to achieving twice the results with half the effort.
Should; must; to be necessary or required.
你今天要完成这些工作。
You must finish these tasks today.
to be going to; about to; will soon
快要下雨了。
It's about to rain.
If; in case; supposing (often used as part of '要是')
要饿了，冰箱里有吃的
If you get hungry, there's food in the fridge.
To express a choice, similar to 'either...or...' or 'otherwise'.
你得快点，要不然就迟到了
You must hurry, otherwise you'll be late.
2
yāo要
To demand or extort, often by relying on a strong position or leveraging something against another.
他想利用我的秘密来要挟我。
He wants to use my secret to blackmail me.
An archaic or dialectal variant for '腰' (yāo), meaning 'waist'.
他系紧了要带。
He tightened his waistband.
To intercept midway; to stop or block someone or something on their way.
他们要住了一批货物。
They intercepted a batch of goods.
Same as '邀' (yāo), meaning to invite or request someone to do something.
他要我参加明天的会议。
He invited me to attend tomorrow's meeting.