要る
いる · iru · JLPT N5 · verb-godan
to need
iru sounds like I rue: I rue not having what I need
要 is the kanji for need or essential, also seen in 必要 (hitsuyou, necessary). Iru sounds like I rue, the regret of lacking something you need. Not to be confused with 居る (iru, to exist), which sounds the same but uses a different kanji.
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.