严
嚴Yan2
#545 most
frequent character
surname Yan
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
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