求 qiú — to seek; to look for; to request; to demand; to beseech
遇到困难时可以向老师求助。Yù dào kùn nan shí kě yǐ xiàng lǎo shī qiú zhù.When you meet difficulties, you can ask the teacher for help.
Common words: 要求 (yāo qiú)、请求 (qǐng qiú)、需求 (xū qiú)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "to demand"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "to demand", including 求 (qiú), 索 (suǒ), 讨 (tǎo). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "to demand" covers 3 different Chinese characters — 求 (qiú), 索 (suǒ), 讨 (tǎo) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 3 characters do not share a sound — their readings span qiú, suǒ, tǎo — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 求 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 求 qiúto seek; to look for; to request; to demand; to beseechUseful words: 要求, 请求
- 索 suǒto search; to demand; to ask; to exact; large rope; isolatedUseful words: 线索, 搜索
- 讨 tǎoask for; send punitive expedition; to demand; to marryUseful words: 讨论, 讨厌
Common words for these 3 "to demand" characters
Anchor each of these 3 characters in a word you can picture — start with 求 (qiú) — so "to demand" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
要求yāo qiúto request; to require; requirement; to stake a claim请求qǐng qiúto request; to ask; request (需求xū qiúrequirement; to require; (economics) demand线索xiàn suǒtrail; clues; thread (of a story)搜索sōu suǒto search (a place, a database, online etc); to search for (sth)探索tàn suǒto explore; to probe讨论tǎo lùnto discuss; to talk over讨厌tǎo yànto dislike; to loathe; disagreeable; troublesome探讨tàn tǎoto investigate; to probe
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 3 ways to say "to demand".
索 suǒ — to search; to demand; to ask; to exact; large rope; isolated
遇到难题，我们要积极思索。Yù dào nán tí, wǒ men yào jī jí sī suǒ.When facing a difficult problem, we should think actively.
Common words: 线索 (xiàn suǒ)、搜索 (sōu suǒ)、探索 (tàn suǒ)
讨 tǎo — ask for; send punitive expedition; to demand; to marry
这个小姑娘很讨人喜欢。Zhè ge xiǎo gū niang hěn tǎo rén xǐ huan.This little girl is very likable.
Common words: 讨论 (tǎo lùn)、讨厌 (tǎo yàn)、探讨 (tàn tǎo)
All 3 characters
Open 求、索、讨 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.