要
yào · HSK 1
want
🙋 要 = 西 (west) + 女 (woman); originally depicted a woman's waist, now means want/need
The character 要 originally meant waist (now written 腰), showing a woman with hands on hips. It shifted to mean want, need, must — what is essential or required. Sounds like yow as in yowza, I want that!
要 — west 覀 (top) + woman 女 (bottom)
Originally a pictograph of a woman with hands on her waist, meaning 'waist' (the original form of 腰). The top 覀 is a stylized depiction of the waist area, not the character for 'west'. Over time it was borrowed for the meaning 'to want, important', so 腰 (with 月 flesh radical) was created for the original 'waist' sense.
yào · HSK 2
will
🙋 要 = 西 (west) + 女 (woman); originally meant waist, now want/need
The character once depicted a woman with hands on her waist — the 西 on top is a stylized waist, 女 below is woman. Meaning shifted from waist to want/need/will. Sounds like yow.
要 — west 覀 (top) + woman 女 (bottom)
Originally a pictograph of a woman with hands on her waist, meaning 'waist' (the original form of 腰). The top 覀 is a stylized depiction of the waist area, not the character for 'west'. Over time it was borrowed for the meaning 'to want, important', so 腰 (with 月 flesh radical) was created for the original 'waist' sense.