Auxiliary verb "yao" and its multiple meanings

You probably already know the basic meaning of 要 (yào): "to want." It's actually a quite versatile word, though, and can also take on the meanings of "to need" as well as "will (do something)." In every case, context is crucial for figuring out which meaning someone is trying to express.

要 as "want"

This structure could be used ordering food in a restaurant or a shop.

Structure

Subject + 要 + Noun

Examples

• 我 要 一 杯 水。I want a cup of water.
• 我 要 一 份 牛排。I want a steak.
• 我 要 一 杯 咖啡。I want a cup of coffee.
• 我 要 一 个 面包。I want bread.
• 我 要 冰 的 可乐。I want coke with ice.
• 你 要 热 牛奶 吗？Do you want warm milk?
• 我 要 一点 糖。I want some sweets.
• 我 要 两 份 鸡 肉。I want to pieces of Chicken.
• 我 要 法国 红 酒。I want French wine.
• 我 要 苹果 汁。I want apple juice.

要 as "want to"

In Chinese, 要 (yào), the verb "to want" doesn't quite function like the English. It means "want to" (similar to 想), but its tone is quite firm.

Structure

Subject + 要 + Verb

Examples

• 我 要 吃 巧克力。 I want to eat chocolate.
• 我 要 跟 你 一起 去。 I want to go with you.
• 我 要 吃 西餐。I want to eat western food.
• 我 要 学 中文。I want to study Chinese.
• 我 要 去 泰国。I want to go to Thailand.
• 我 要 买 一 个 新 手机。I want to buy a new cell phone.
• 我 要 工作。I want to work.
• 我 要 打 电话。I want to make a phone call.
• 我 要 见 他。I want to see him.
• 我 要 试 一下。I want to try.

当然，你可以用“想要”表示“want to"。这样的话，句子的语气就没有“要”那么强烈了。

要 as "need to"

If you crank the urgency of "to want" up a few notches, you get "to need." The two meanings overlap, creating a fuzzy, "needy" gray area.

Structure

Same structure here.

Subject + 要 + Verb

Examples

• 明天 我们 要 上班 。(logically, most people don't really WANT to work)We need to work tomorrow.
• 你 要 现在 付钱。 (No one WANTS to pay, right?)You need to pay now.
• 我们 要 买 很 多 酒。
• 我 要 休息 一 下。
• 你 要 找 一 个 中文 老师。
• 今天 很 忙，我 要 加班。
• 你 要 多 吃 点 水果。
• 你 要 学 会 用 电脑。
• 明天 下雨，你 要 带 雨伞。

要 as "going to"

This use of 要 is like "going to" (similar to 会).

Structure

Again, no change to the structure here. 但是我们经常会提到一个时间。

Subject + 要 + Verb

Examples

• 明年 我 要 去 中国。 (Notice the use of a time word for the future)
• 明天 我 要 去 北京 。(This could also mean "need," depending on context)I
• 星期五 我们 要 开会。
• 12 点 我 要 去 吃饭。
• 2014年，我 要 去 中国 工作。
• 一会儿 我 要 出去。
• 我 要 认识 很 多 中国 朋友。
• 我 要 做 咖啡，你 喝 吗？
• 我 要 找 新 的 工作。
• 我 要 每天 运动。

Structure 要...了

Structure

要 + Verb + 了

If you want to know more about "要...了", please see “快...了”.

Examples

• 要 下雨 了。It's going to rain.
• 她 要 出国 了。
• 爸爸 要 生气 了。
• 要 吃 饭 了，你 去 哪里？
• 明年 我们 要 毕业 了。We are going to graduate next year.
• 圣诞节 要 来 了。Christmas is coming soon.
• 商店 要 关门 了。The store is going to close soon.
• 我 的 手机 要 没 电 了。My cell phone will run out of battery soon.
• 我 的 前 女友 要 结婚 了。My ex-girlfriend is going to get married.
• 孩子 们 要 去 迪士尼 了。Children are going to go to Disneyland.

Context, context, context

You may have noticed that the meanings can easily overlap. To figure out what is intended, you need to use context. How urgent is the situation? Is it likely to be something the speaker really wants to do? Is it something that's totally going to happen, regardless of anyone's preferences? Most often, a little background knowledge and some common sense are all you need to figure it out. But you definitely need to be aware of the three possible meanings listed above.

See also

• "Would like to" with xiang
• Auxiliary verb "hui" for "will"
• About to happen with "le"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 154-5) →buy