Characters · 9 strokes
要
yào to want
Where the shape comes from
西, west, over 女, woman. The parts are historical rather than meaningful, so this is one to learn by writing rather than by story.
西west
女woman
Write it
Watch the order first, then trace it with the guide, then write it from memory. The model comes back over your strokes so you can see where the shape drifted.
Press Watch to see the stroke order.
Stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi via Hanzi Writer, Arphic Public License.
Three words that use it
要是
yàoshi
if
重要
zhòngyào
important
需要
xūyào
to need
Watch out: the mistake people make
Said yāo with a level tone in a few words, such as 要求. The common meaning, to want, is the falling tone.