需要 (xūyào) — Need in Mandarin
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#117 most common word · HSK 3 · CEFR B1
Pinyin colour key: tone 1 (high flat), tone 2 (rising), tone 3 (dipping), tone 4 (falling), neutral.
Tone breakdown
需要 is pronounced xūyào. Tap any syllable’s row to hear the whole word.
In a sentence
Wǒ xūyào yī bēi shuǐ.
I need a glass of water.
Hear it, then say it right
Reading pinyin only gets you halfway. ToneDeck plays native audio for 需要 and thousands more words, then scores your pronunciation so your tones land. HSK 1 is free, no install.
Start freeFrequently asked questions
What does 需要 mean?+
需要 (xūyào) means "Need" in Mandarin Chinese.
How do you pronounce 需要?+
需要 is pronounced xūyào. It uses the tone 1 (high flat), then the tone 4 (falling). Tap the character on this page to hear native audio.
How common is 需要 in Mandarin?+
需要 is the #117 most frequent word in spoken Mandarin, so it is one of the first words worth learning.
Where 需要 fits
Every HSK 3 word with tone-coloured pinyin and audio.
Words at a similar frequency
Master the tones first
What each tone sounds like and why it matters.
Why some tones change in connected speech.
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