HSK 3 · Verbs

需要 xūyào “to need” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 需要 means

  1. to need
  2. to want
  3. to demand
  4. to require
  5. needs

How to say 需要

  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale需xū1st tone, high and level
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale要yào4th tone, falling

需要 in a sentence

  1. 你需要我做什么？

    Nǐ xūyào wǒ zuò shénme?

    What do you need me to do?

    Sentence #11454824 from Tatoeba

  2. 我的手表需要修理。

    Wǒ de shǒubiǎo xūyào xiūlǐ.

    My watch needs fixing.

    Sentence #651177 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 不，谢谢。我不需要塑料袋。

    Bù, xièxie. Wǒ bù xūyào sùliàodài.

    No, thank you. I don’t need a plastic bag.

    Sentence #1545675 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 需要 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 需 (xū) with each of its parts in a different colour
需xūto require
  • 雨rain · yǔ
  • 而and · ér
The character 要 (yào) with each of its parts in a different colour
要yàoto want; to need; to ask for
  • 覀cover form of 襾 · yà
  • 女woman · nǚ

Memory aidOnce drawn as a person with hands on the waist, its first meaning. That meaning moved to 腰 (yāo), and 要 became “to want”.

How to write 需要

需 14 strokes · 要 9 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

需要 (xūyào) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 需要 (xūyào). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 需要

Words with 需

需求xūqiú · demand

Words with 要

不要bùyào · don’t!要yào · want快要kuàiyào · about to要求yāoqiú · to request重要zhòngyào · important主要zhǔyào · main就要jiùyào · about to要是yàoshi · if只要zhǐyào · if only必要bìyào · necessary

More words: Thinking & Talking

同意tóngyì · agree完成wánchéng · to complete相信xiāngxìn · to believe小心xiǎoxīn · be careful选择xuǎnzé · select要求yāoqiú · to request应该yīnggāi · should影响yǐngxiǎng · influence

FAQs

需要 (xūyào) means “to need” or “to want”. It is an HSK 3 word.
Say it xūyào: xū with a 1st tone, then yào with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 需要 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type xuyao with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 需要 from the suggestions. Typing xuyao into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
需要 is an HSK 3 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.