需要
to need; need
HSK level
- Pinyin
- xūyào
- Part of speech
- verb
- Level
- HSK 3
- Strokes
- 23
- Register
- neutral
- In episodes
- 1
Stroke order for 需要
需要 is written with 23 strokes (需: 14, 要: 9). The animation replays automatically.
What does 需要 mean?
需要 (xūyào) means 'to need' — to require something objectively in order to do or have something else.
It works both as a verb ('I need a pen') and a noun ('the customer's needs'). Two things English speakers often miss. First, 需要 is more neutral and slightly more formal than 要 (yào); 要 covers both 'want' and 'need' and is the everyday spoken default, while 需要 emphasises real necessity and is the right word in writing, customer service, and polite contexts.
Second, 需要 + verb-phrase is common ('需要等一下' — 'need to wait a moment'); in this pattern it functions like English 'need to' / 'have to'. In questions you can negate with 不需要 ('don't need') or 不用 (bù yòng, 'no need to') — the latter is more colloquial.
Character by character
Memory hook: Both characters mean 'need / require' on their own; 需要 doubles up to make the meaning unambiguous.
Hear 需要 in real episodes
需要 appears in 1 Fluentide podcast episode at natural native speed. Each sentence plays at the easiest difficulty it exists in — switch it to hear the same moment at your level, with full pinyin and English throughout.
要打开这个钱包，你需要一串很长的字。
To open that wallet, you need a long string of characters.
Not One Cent of the $245 Million Was Taken by Force: a 22-Year-Old Spent Two Years on the Phone, and Every Victim Handed It Over Themselves
Example sentences
你需要帮助吗？
Nǐ xūyào bāngzhù ma?
Do you need help?
spoken
我需要一杯水。
Wǒ xūyào yì bēi shuǐ.
I need a glass of water.
spoken
学好中文需要时间。
Xuéhǎo Zhōngwén xūyào shíjiān.
Learning Chinese well takes time.
neutral
不需要，谢谢。
Bù xūyào, xièxie.
I don't need (any), thanks.
polite
如果您需要，请告诉我。
Rúguǒ nín xūyào, qǐng gàosu wǒ.
If you need (anything), please tell me.
polite, written
Common phrases with 需要
Synonyms
Don't confuse 需要 with
想 means 'to want / would like (to)' — a wish. 需要 means 'to need' — a requirement. 我想喝咖啡 ('I'd like coffee') vs 我需要喝水 ('I need to drink water').
要 can mean want, need, or future 'will'. 需要 is narrower: only 'need / require'. If you mean 'will / going to', use 要 or 会, not 需要.
需求 is the formal noun 'demand / need' used in business, economics, and writing (市场需求 'market demand'). 需要 is the everyday verb / noun.
FAQ
Related words from the same episodes
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