How to say “need” in Chinese
need (lit.)
“Need” in Chinese is 需, xū: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
需 is read xū. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
On top, 雨 “rain”; below, 而.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “需”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 需. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 你需要多休息nǐxūyàoduōxiūxiYou need to rest more.
- 需要帮忙吗？xūyàobāngmángmaDo you need help?
- 学汉语需要耐心xuéHànyǔxūyàonàixīnLearning Chinese takes patience.
- 从这儿去机场需要换乘吗？cóngzhèrqùjīchǎngxūyàohuànchéngmaDo I need to transfer to get to the airport from here?
- 这个航班需要转机吗？zhègehángbānxūyàozhuǎnjīmaDoes this flight have a connection?
- 从这儿到机场大约需要一个小时。cóngzh èrdàojīchǎngdàyuēxūyàoyígexiǎoshíIt takes about an hour to get from here to the airport.
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “Even if, and the opposite”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “need” in Chinese?
“Need” in Chinese is 需, pinyin xū.
What does 需 mean?
需 (xū) means “need (lit.)”.
How do you write 需?
需 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 需?
需 is read xū. Tones: xū — first tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“need” in the lesson “Even if, and the opposite”
This word is from the topic “Linking ideas” of HSK 5. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
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