Chinese words starting with “yao”
35 words in our HSK vocabulary start with the syllable yao. They are sorted by how common they are, so the ones you are most likely to meet come first. The 7 most useful of them have their own page — they are listed first below.
Initial — · final iao · hear the four tones and see example characters →
- 1st tone 3
- 2nd tone 11
- 3rd tone 2
- 4th tone 19
Word counts by tone are counted on the first syllable of each word.
Common words with this syllable
- 要求yāo qiúHSK 2
to request; to require; requirement; to stake a claim; to ask; to demand
- 要是yào shiHSK 3
(coll.) if
- 邀请yāo qǐngHSK 5
to invite; invitation
- 药物yào wùHSK 4
medicaments; pharmaceuticals; medication; medicine; drug
- 药店yào diànHSK 2
pharmacy
- 药水yào shuǐHSK 2
medicine in liquid form; bottled medicine; lotion
- 药片yào piànHSK 2
a (medicine) pill or tablet
All 35 words
| # | Word | Pinyin | POS | Meaning | Study list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 要 | yào | v | to want; to need; to ask for; will; shall; about to; need to; should; if (same as 是); (bound form) important | |
| 2 | 药 | yào | n | medicine; drug; substance used for a specific purpose (e.g. poisoning, explosion, fermenting); to poison | |
| 3 | 要么 | yào me | c | or; either one or the other | |
| 4 | 咬 | yǎo | v | to bite; to nip | |
| 5 | 摇 | yáo | v | to shake; to rock; to row; to crank | |
| 6 | 腰 | yāo | n | waist; lower back; pocket; middle; loins | |
| 7 | 钥匙 | yào shi | n | key | |
| 8 | 药品 | yào pǐn | n | medicaments; medicine; drug | |
| 9 | 要不 | yào bù | c | otherwise; or else; how about...?; either... (or...) | |
| 10 | 摇滚 | yáo gǔn | n,v | rock 'n' roll (music); to rock; to fall off | |
| 11 | 遥远 | yáo yuǎn | a | distant; remote | |
| 12 | 邀 | yāo | v,vn | to invite; to request; to intercept; to solicit; to seek | |
| 13 | 摇头 | yáo tóu | v | to shake one's head | |
| 14 | 要不然 | yào bù rán | c | otherwise; or else; or | |
| 15 | 要命 | yào mìng | v,a | to cause sb's death; extremely; terribly; (used in complaining about sth) to be a nuisance | |
| 16 | 谣言 | yáo yán | n | rumor | |
| 17 | 耀眼 | yào yǎn | a | to dazzle; dazzling | |
| 18 | 要点 | yào diǎn | n | main point; essential | |
| 19 | 要素 | yào sù | n | essential factor; key constituent | |
| 20 | 要紧 | yào jǐn | a | important; urgent | |
| 21 | 遥控 | yáo kòng | vn,v | to direct operations from a remote location; to remotely control | |
| 22 | 要好 | yào hǎo | a | to be on good terms; to be close friends; striving for self-improvement | |
| 23 | 要害 | yào hài | n | vital part; (fig.) key point; crucial | |
| 24 | 摇摆 | yáo bǎi | v,vn | to sway; to wobble; to waver | |
| 25 | 妖怪 | yāo guài | n | monster; devil | |
| 26 | 摇晃 | yáo huàng | v | to rock; to shake; to sway | |
| 27 | 要不是 | yào bu shì | c | if it were not for; but for | |
| 28 | 窑 | yáo | g,n | kiln; oven; coal pit; cave dwelling; (coll.) brothel | |
| 29 | 摇篮 | yáo lán | n | cradle | |
| 30 | 药方 | yào fāng | n | prescription | |
| 31 | 要强 | yào qiáng | a | eager to excel; eager to get ahead in life; strong-minded | |
| 32 | 摇摇欲坠 | yáo yáo yù zhuì | v | tottering; on the verge of collapse | |
| 33 | 咬牙切齿 | yǎo yá qiè chǐ | l | (idiom) to gnash one's teeth; to fume with rage | |
| 34 | 要领 | yào lǐng | n | main aspects; essentials; gist | |
| 35 | 药材 | yào cái | n | medicinal ingredient |
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