要

Originally, 要 was a pictograph, depicting a woman standing with her hands placed on her waist. Its earliest meaning was “waist”.

Over time, however, the character was borrowed (假借) for the abstract sense of “importance” and “to require.” The original physical meaning “waist” was later reassigned to the derivative character 腰 (formed by adding the flesh radical 肉/⺼).

Thus, 要 developed from a concrete depiction of the waist into one of the most productive characters for expressing importance, necessity, and requirement in East Asian languages.

중요 (重要) – importance, significance

필요 (必要) – necessity, need

요점 (要點) – main point, gist

요구 (要求) – demand, request

요약 (要約) – summary, outline

요지 (要旨) – essential meaning, gist

腰