严重
HSK 4 (exam 2025)HSK 4 (2021)Old HSK 4
严重 (yánzhòng) · serious
严重 (yánzhòng) means “serious; severe; grave”. It is written with 2 characters: 严 (strict) + 重 (heavy). It is an HSK 4 word in the current exam syllabus (2025).
How 严重 is built
The characters
严 yán · strict
What 严 is made of
- 亚yà — Asia
- 厂chǎng — cliff
重 zhòng · heavy
What 重 is made of
- 千qiān — thousand
- 里lǐ — inside
- 田tián — field
- 土tǔ — earth
- 十 — ten
- 一 — horizontal stroke
Origin hint: A burden carried for a thousand 千 miles 里 (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
Example sentences
他的病很严重。Tā de bìng hěn yánzhòng.His illness is very serious.
这个问题有多严重？Zhègè wèntí yǒu duō yánzhòng?How serious is this problem?
Questions about 严重
What does 严重 mean?
严重 (yánzhòng) means “serious; severe; grave”.
How do you pronounce 严重?
严重 is pronounced yánzhòng.
Which HSK level is 严重?
严重 is in HSK 4 (exam 2025) and HSK 4 (2021) and Old HSK 4.
Related words
- 严格yángéstrict
- 严肃yánsùserious
- 严寒yánhánsevere cold
- 严禁yánjìnto strictly forbid
- 严峻yánjùnsevere
- 严厉yánlìstern
- 严密yánmìtight
- 庄严zhuāngyánsolemn
- 尊严zūnyándignity
- 严yánstrict
Learn 严重 with its group
It is part of HSK 4 (2021) · Group 46: a short group with quick checks and spaced repeats.