超重(chāo zhòng) - to be overweight, to exceed the weight limit in Mandarin

超重 (chāozhòng) means "to exceed the weight limit" or, applied to a person, "to be overweight". 超 (chāo) means "to exceed, surpass" and 重 (zhòng) means "weight", so the compound is literally "over-weight".

Its most common everyday use is nothing to do with bodies at all: airport check-in and parcel post both use it constantly. 行李超重 (xíngli chāozhòng), "luggage is overweight", is the phrase behind many an unwelcome extra charge.

Applied to a person's health, 有点超重 (yǒudiǎn chāozhòng), "a bit overweight", is the gentler, more clinical way to raise the subject than 胖 (pàng), "fat", which can sound blunt. English speakers sometimes want a separate word for "my bag is too heavy" versus "I need to lose weight", but Mandarin is happy to let 超重 (chāozhòng) cover both, since the underlying idea, exceeding a limit, is the same.