严重嚴重 yánzhòng — serious, severe, grave
yánzhòng (second tone, rising)yan2zhong4
Traditional: 嚴重
serious, severe, grave
HSK 4· HSK 1–4 (classic)adjective
Meanings
serious, severe, grave
Bad to a degree that demands attention — an illness, a mistake, a shortage. It describes the size of a problem, not a person’s character; unlike 认真 (conscientious), a person is never simply 严重 in Chinese.
adjective
Example sentences
- 这个问题很严重，我们要马上解决。這個問題很嚴重，我們要馬上解決。Zhège (fourth tone, falling) wèntí (fourth tone, falling) hěn (third tone, dipping) yánzhòng, (second tone, rising) wǒmen (third tone, dipping) yào (fourth tone, falling) mǎshàng (third tone, dipping) jiějué. (third tone, dipping)···
This problem is serious — we need to solve it right away.
- 他感冒很严重，去医院了。他感冒很嚴重，去醫院了。Tā (first tone, high and level) gǎnmào (third tone, dipping) hěn (third tone, dipping) yánzhòng, (second tone, rising) qù (fourth tone, falling) yīyuàn (first tone, high and level) le. (neutral tone)···
His cold is severe — he went to the hospital.
Common mistakes
Not quite我觉得他工作很严重。
Correct我觉得他工作很认真。
严重 measures how bad a problem is, not how conscientious a person is. Someone who takes their work seriously is 认真; 严重 only ever describes trouble.