TSUMUGU · TOCFL 1 (est.) · 字
要
ㄧㄠˋ · yào/yāo
verb/adj — to want; must; important; (yāo) to demand
字源 FORM — what the parts do
要形a figure with both hands set on the waist — the old graph of the waist (now 腰)
A figure, hands on the waist — the original word is the waist, now written 腰. The waist is the body's middle, and the middle became the essential: 重要; what is essential is what you ask for: 我要、要求.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
雙手叉腰站著，全身的重量都落在那一圈上。
Hands on hips — the whole body's weight settles at that one ring.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
yào
(引申)重要、要點— important; the essentials
→想要、要不要— to want; must常用
yāo
(本義)腰（本字）— the waist — now written 腰
→要求— to demand, request
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension