要 important

(west top) + 女 (woman)

★★★★★

9 strokes

Onyomi

YOU

Mnemonic

In the west, it is important for women to YODEL regularly.

Kunyomi

( が ) い*る	to need something　super important - but always written in kana, so I'm giving it a usefullness of zero, even though as a hiragana word it's more like a 3 or 4. KANA ☆☆☆☆☆
よう*する ( に )	in short, in sum LAZY NP ★★★☆☆
かなめ	the one key point, the lynchpin of ☆☆☆☆☆

Jukugo

重要(じゅうよう) な	essential ★★★★☆ 重 (heavy / overlap) + 要 (important) = 重要 (essential)
要点(ようてん)	the important points ★★☆☆☆ 要 (important) + 点 (point) = 要点 (the important points) the important points (unlike the related word 重点（じゅうてん）、　要点 is more than one point - more like a summary. Like instead of writing an essay, you'd just do a series of bullet points. Example phrase:要点だけ話して！　("Get to the point!")
要求(ようきゅう) する	demand ★★☆☆☆ 要 (important) + 求 (demand/ask) = 要求 (demand) demand - more strident than the related word 求める　（もとめる）
需要(じゅよう)	demand ★★☆☆☆ NP 需 (demand) + 要 (important) = 需要 (demand) demand in the economic sense - supply and demand This does NOT get to turn into a verb. You don't use する. You'd say 需要がある (there's a demand for xxx) or perhaps　　需要を　満たす　（じゅようをもたす） (there's enough of xxx to meet the demand).

Used In

腰

Synonyms

demand
求める要求需要請求欲求

important, vital
必要大切重大重要大事

summary
つまりxxxx 要約要はxxx

the point is...
重点要点焦点