要 — “need / essential” in Japanese

Grade 4よう, い, かなめ

Radical ⾑ · radical 146 The building block this kanji is filed under

“need / essential” in Japanese is 要, read you, i, kaname (よう, い, かなめ). It is a Grade 4 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 4 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 重要 (important).

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What does 要 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	要
Meaning	need / essential
Readings	よう, い, かなめ
Grade	Grade 4 (Upper)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	重要 (important)

How to read 要

要 is read you (よう) or i (い) or kaname (かなめ) depending on the word.

Words with 要

重要じゅうよう
必要ひつよう
重要性じゅうようせい
要求
需要
要旨
概要

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Kanji read the same way as 要

Same sound, different character — the classic trap. Compare them side by side:

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Updated: 2026-08-28