| 1 | 要 | 要 | yào | yao4 | important; vital; to want; to ask for; will; going to (as future auxiliary); may; must; (used in a comparison) must be; probably; if | | |
| 2 | 主要 | 主要 | zhǔ yào | zhu3 yao4 | main; principal; major; primary | | |
| 3 | 重要 | 重要 | zhòng yào | zhong4 yao4 | important; significant; major | | |
| 4 | 需要 | 需要 | xū yào | xu1 yao4 | must; have to; to need; to want; to demand; to require; requirement; need | | |
| 5 | 不要 | 不要 | bù yào | bu4 yao4 | don't!; must not | | |
| 6 | 只要 | 只要 | zhǐ yào | zhi3 yao4 | if only; so long as | | |
| 7 | 就要 | 就要 | jiù yào | jiu4 yao4 | will; shall; to be going to | | |
| 8 | 必要 | 必要 | bì yào | bi4 yao4 | necessary; essential; indispensable; required | | |
| 9 | 要是 | 要是 | yào shi | yao4 shi5 | (coll.) if | | |
| 10 | 要素 | 要素 | yào sù | yao4 su4 | essential factor; key constituent | | |
| 11 | 重要性 | 重要性 | zhòng yào xìng | zhong4 yao4 xing4 | importance | | |
| 12 | 要不 | 要不 | yào bù | yao4 bu4 | otherwise; or else; how about...?; either... (or...) | | |
| 13 | 总要 | 總要 | zǒng yào | zong3 yao4 | nevertheless | | |
| 14 | 不要紧 | 不要緊 | bù yào jǐn | bu4 yao4 jin3 | unimportant; not serious; it doesn't matter; never mind; it looks all right, but | | |
| 15 | 要紧 | 要緊 | yào jǐn | yao4 jin3 | important; urgent | | |
| 16 | 将要 | 將要 | jiāng yào | jiang1 yao4 | will; shall; to be going to | | |
| 17 | 次要 | 次要 | cì yào | ci4 yao4 | secondary | | |
| 18 | 要不是 | 要不是 | yào bu shì | yao4 bu5 shi4 | if it were not for; but for | | |
| 19 | 首要 | 首要 | shǒu yào | shou3 yao4 | the most important; of chief importance | | |
| 20 | 快要 | 快要 | kuài yào | kuai4 yao4 | almost; nearly; almost all | | |
| 21 | 必要条件 | 必要條件 | bì yào tiáo jiàn | bi4 yao4 tiao2 jian4 | requirement; necessary condition (math) | | |
| 22 | 要点 | 要點 | yào diǎn | yao4 dian3 | main point; essential | | |
| 23 | 简要 | 簡要 | jiǎn yào | jian3 yao4 | concise; brief | | |
| 24 | 非要 | 非要 | fēi yào | fei1 yao4 | to want absolutely; to insist on (doing something) | | |
| 25 | 要命 | 要命 | yào mìng | yao4 ming4 | to cause sb's death; very; extremely; frightening; annoying | | |