摘要 (zhāi yào) literally means 'to pick out the essentials' — 摘 (zhāi) means 'to pick, pluck, or select', and 要 (yào) means 'essential, important, or key point'. Together, they form a noun meaning 'abstract' or 'summary': a concise restatement of the main points of a longer text, such as a research paper, report, or article. It is commonly used in academic, professional, and technical contexts where brevity and clarity are essential.

This word is formal and neutral in register, frequently appearing in scholarly publications, conference programs, medical records, and official documents. Unlike colloquial terms like 简介 (jiǎn jiè, 'introduction') or 概括 (gài kuò, 'generalization'), 摘要 specifically implies distillation — extracting core content without interpretation or commentary. It is almost always placed at the beginning of a longer work and typically ranges from 100 to 300 characters in Chinese.