Usages of yào
我 从 家 到 银行 要 十 分钟。Wǒ cóng jiā dào yínháng yào shí fēnzhōng.
It takes ten minutes for me to get from home to the bank.
我 奶奶 说， 她 年轻 的 时候 交通 不 发达， 去 一 次 市中心 或许 要 一 天。wǒ nǎinai shuō, tā niánqīng de shíhou jiāotōng bù fādá, qù yí cì shìzhōngxīn huòxǔ yào yì tiān.
My grandma says that when she was young, transportation wasn’t developed, and going downtown once might take a whole day.
现在 交通 很 发达， 从 郊区 到 市中心 的 地铁 常常 很 满， 要 坐 四十 分钟， 比 公交车 方便。xiànzài jiāotōng hěn fādá, cóng jiāoqū dào shìzhōngxīn de dìtiě chángcháng hěn mǎn, yào zuò sìshí fēnzhōng, bǐ gōngjiāochē fāngbiàn.
Transportation is very developed now; the subway from the suburbs to downtown is often very full and takes forty minutes, but it’s more convenient than the bus.
她 每天 从 宿舍 走 到 教学楼 只 要 五 分钟。Tā měitiān cóng sùshè zǒu dào jiàoxuélóu zhǐ yào wǔ fēnzhōng.
Every day she walks from the dorm to the classroom building; it only takes five minutes.
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Mandarin Chinese has four main tones plus a neutral tone. The same syllable can mean completely different things depending on the tone — for example, "mā" (mother), "má" (hemp), "mǎ" (horse), and "mà" (scold). Mastering tones is essential for being understood.
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