严

嚴
yán
#545 most
frequent character
strict, tight, severe, stern
adjective

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

严 is a short form of 嚴, which once drew a person with three mouths joined together — a talker who never stops. So its first sense was exaggerated or excessive speech. That shifted to giving urgent orders, and then to stern, strict, severe.

Drawn as: person with three mouths

严 as a component in other characters

sound1 character
俨
picture1 character
酽

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Example Sentences

这个老师非常严。
zhègè lǎoshī fēicháng yán 。
This teacher is very strict.
天气变得越来越严。
tiānqì biàndé yuèláiyuè yán 。
The weather is getting more and more severe.
他对自己的要求很严。
tā duì zìjǐ de yāoqiú hěn yán 。
He is very stern with his requirements for himself.

Same Characters, Different Readings

严Yan2
surname Yan

Words with similar meanings

苛kē
harsh
More intense in terms of severity, often implies being overly strict.
严格yángé
rigorous
Similar in meaning but can suggest a more formal or methodical strictness.

Homophones

HSK 4
盐yán
salt
沿yán
along, follow
炎yán
flame, inflammation, -itis

Words Starting With 严

严格yán gé
strict; stringent; tight; rigorous
严重yán zhòng
grave; serious; severe; critical
严肃yán sù
solemn; solemnity
严厉yán lì
severe; strict
严密yán mì
"strict; tight (organization, surveillance etc)"

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