严 (yán) means Tight (strict - severe). Below are 24 of the 48 sentences on this site that use it — with pinyin, an English translation and audio. All of them were written by hand; none is machine generated.
Dictionary examples
他的病不太 严 重。
Tā de bìng bú tài yánzhòng.
His illness is not very serious.
Dictionary example · HSK 4 · 严重
他的表情很 严 肃。
Tā de biǎoqíng hěn yánsù.
His expression is very serious.
Dictionary example · HSK 5 · 严肃
公司的规定很 严 格。
Gōngsī de guīdìng hěn yángé.
The company's rules are strict.
Dictionary example · HSK 4 · 严格
公司有 严 格的制度。
Gōngsī yǒu yángé de zhìdù.
The company has strict rules.
Dictionary example · HSK 5 · 制度
现场戒备十分森 严 。
Xiànchǎng jièbèi shífēn sēnyán.
Security at the scene is extremely tight.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 戒备
环境问题日益 严 重。
Huánjìng wèntí rìyì yánzhòng.
Environmental problems are growing more serious by the day.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 日益
选拔标准非常 严 格。
Xuǎnbá biāozhǔn fēicháng yángé.
The selection criteria are extremely strict.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 选拔
问题比我们想的 严 重。
Wèntí bǐ wǒmen xiǎng de yánzhòng.
The problem is more serious than we thought.
Dictionary example · HSK 4 · 严重
这样做的后果很 严 重。
Zhèyàng zuò de hòuguǒ hěn yánzhòng.
The consequences of doing this are serious.
Dictionary example · HSK 5 · 后果
这是一个 严 肃的问题。
Zhè shì yí ge yánsù de wèntí.
This is a serious matter.
Dictionary example · HSK 5 · 严肃
他因 严 重违纪被开除。
Tā yīn yánzhòng wéijì bèi kāichú.
He was expelled for a serious breach of discipline.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 开除
这套理论体系很 严 密。
Zhè tào lǐlùn tǐxì hěn yánmì.
This theoretical system is very rigorous.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 体系
北方的冬天十分 严 寒。
Běifāng de dōngtiān shífēn yánhán.
Winter in the north is bitterly cold.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 严寒
考场内 严 禁使用手机。
Kǎochǎng nèi yánjìn shǐyòng shǒujī.
The use of phones is strictly forbidden in the exam hall.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 严禁
我们面临 严 峻的挑战。
Wǒmen miànlín yánjùn de tiǎozhàn.
We face a grim challenge.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 严峻
形势比想象的更 严 峻。
Xíngshì bǐ xiǎngxiàng de gèng yánjùn.
The situation is more severe than imagined.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 严峻
父亲对他一向很 严 厉。
Fùqīn duì tā yíxiàng hěn yánlì.
His father has always been strict with him.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 严厉
他受到了 严 厉的批评。
Tā shòudào le yánlì de pīpíng.
He came in for severe criticism.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 严厉
现场的防守十分 严 密。
Xiànchǎng de fángshǒu shífēn yánmì.
Security at the scene is extremely tight.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 严密
他 严 格按照指令操作。
Tā yángé ànzhào zhǐlìng cāozuò.
He operated strictly according to instructions.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 指令
仪式的气氛十分庄 严 。
Yíshì de qìfēn shífēn zhuāngyán.
The atmosphere of the ceremony was most solemn.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 庄严
这是一座庄 严 的建筑。
Zhè shì yí zuò zhuāngyán de jiànzhù.
This is a stately building.
Dictionary example · HSK 6 · 庄严
Reading these is one thing; producing 严 yourself is another. Cloze in Context takes a sentence from this same bank, removes one word and asks you to put it back — beginner, intermediate and advanced.
严 appears in 48 sentences on this site; the 24 shortest and most direct are shown. The rest are on the pages they were written for — the graded readers, the phrasebook and the grammar library.
Words that contain 严
Each of these has sentences of its own, so you can see the character doing a different job in each one.
Questions about 严
How is 严 used in a sentence?
This page shows 48 sentences using 严 (yán, "Tight (strict - severe)"), each with pinyin, an English translation and audio. Every one of them was written by hand for this site.
Are these sentences machine generated?
No. They come from the site's own dictionary examples, graded readers, travel phrasebook and grammar library — all written by a person. A word with no sentence gets no page here, rather than a page of invented ones.
Why do some sentences show 严 inside a longer word?
Because that is where a single character usually lives. Seeing 严 inside the words it builds is how the character stops being an isolated symbol and starts being something you can read.
Where can I see the full entry for 严?
The dictionary page for 严 has its stroke order, its traditional form, every sense the dictionary lists and a character-by-character breakdown. It is linked at the top of this page.
Keep going
Read the full entry for 严, write a sentence of your own and check it in the Pinyin Annotator, or search the whole sentence bank for another word.
Another word
Chinese, pinyin or English. Tone marks optional.