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要领 (yào lǐng) — essentials, main points, gist

Definition

要领 means the 'essentials' or 'main points' of how to do something — the practical key steps. Stronger and more action-oriented than 要点 ('key points'), and distinct from 大意, which means the overall gist rather than what you must master.

noun
essentialsmain pointsgist
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 要领。
    Xué kāi chē zuì zhòng yào de shì zhǎng wò jī běn yào lǐng.
    The most important part of learning to drive is mastering the basics.
  • 要领。
    Tā zài huì shàng tán le xiàng mù shí shī de yào lǐng.
    He talked about the key points of project implementation at the meeting.
  • 要领？
    Zhè piān wén zhāng de yào lǐng shì shén me?
    What is the gist of this article?

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

要yàomain
领lǐngleading point

要 marks what is main, and 领 suggests the leading thread; together they give the essential points.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

要 began as a drawing of a person with both hands pointing to the waist.

Open 要 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 領; 领 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yè
Sound part声符shēngfú
令
令lìng領lǐng
Same sound today

The traditional form 領 has 令 as a sound part and 頁 as a meaning part; the simplified 领 is a later shorthand.

Open 领 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Abstract Concepts

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.