Kilo Lingo

(yán zhòng) - serious, severe in Mandarin

yánzhòng

Traditional: 严重

Line drawing of 严重
Coloured illustration of 严重
#916 of 5,000 Core 1000

Translation

serious, severe

Word origin

A compound of 严 (yán, 'strict, severe') and 重 (zhòng, 'heavy, serious'), so the whole means 'grave, severe'. 重 is a pictograph-derived character depicting a person carrying a heavy load.

Origin
compound
Root
严 (yán, 'strict') + 重 (zhòng, 'heavy, serious')

Stroke order

Stroke order for 严

Stroke order for 重

Examples

This is a serious problem.

This problem is very serious.

This matter is more serious than I thought.

The situation is more serious than imagined.

He is seriously ill.

严重 (yán zhòng) means serious or severe.

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This word is part of lesson 19.