Five uses of 要 (yào) in Chinese grammar
要 (yào) is one of the most common words in Chinese, and it has a versatile range of uses. In this article, we'll cover five common uses of 要 in Chinese grammar: “want”, “need”, “should”, for commands and for future tense.
要 meaning “want”
The dictionary definitions for 要 always include “want” in English. 要 is the most direct and simple way of expressing a desire in Chinese. For example:
我要那个玩具。
我要吃糖果。
谁要去游泳?
Notice how in the first sentence, 要 is the main verb, whereas in the last two sentences, 要 is an auxiliary verb.
As in English, expressing “want” in this way can be quite direct and abrupt, so be careful with it. See also: the difference between 想, 要 and 想要
要 meaning “need”
In much the same way as it can be used to express “want”, 要 can also express “need”. Have a look at these examples:
我要找到我的钥匙。
去美国要申请签证。
买汽车要花很多钱。
In the above sentences, 要 could be swapped with 需要 (xūyào) without a great deal of difference.
要 meaning “should”
要 can often be somewhat ambiguous as to whether it expresses “need” or “should”. Have a look at the example sentences below; you could interpret them as meaning “need” or “should” in English, but all of them use 要 in Chinese.
葡萄要先洗一洗再吃。
生病时要多喝水。
你学习中文要努力一点。
Often, 需要 is used to unambiguously express “need”. A lot of the time, though, the two concepts are not fully distinguished in Chinese sentences.
要 for commands
要 is often used to form imperative sentences in Chinese. That is, sentences that give commands. 要 is pretty much only used to form negative commands.
For example, 要 is the easiest way to express “don't”:
不要碰我的东西。
什么都不要说
不要看我。
Note that when 不 comes before 要, it becomes second tone due to tone change rules.
You may know that the particle 了 (le) can be used to indicate a change of state. If you combine this with 不要, you get commands that express “stop”.
Here are some examples:
不要说话了。
不要嘲笑我了!
不要这样了!
You can also replace 不要 with 别 in most situations. A couple of examples:
别误会我。
别打扰我。
别离开我。
These kinds of commands might also be expressed in English with “any more” or “again”, for example:
不要再喝了。
你不要见她了吧。
When 了 is used in this way, it often corresponds with “any more” in English.
要 for future tense
Finally, 要 can be used to express future tense. This is similar to many European languages that express future actions with words like “want” or “will”. You might say that technically an intent or desire is being expressed, but everyone understands it as a future action.
Some examples:
他们要来这里吃饭。
我们明天要去颐和园。
看起来要下雨了。
The example sentences in this article will give you a good foundation for understanding 要 in all of its contexts (you could use them for sentence mining). Just remember that the best approach to Chinese grammar is to develop your general sense for the language rather than trying to memorise specific rules.
More A2 articles
- The 是…的 (shì…de) construction vs 了 (le) in Chinese grammar A2
- How to use 长 (cháng) and 久 (jiǔ) correctly in Chinese grammar A2
- The difference between 去 (qù), 走 (zǒu) and 离开 (líkāi) in Chinese grammar A2