严令禁止 (yán lìng jìn zhǐ) — to strictly prohibit, to forbid under severe penalty

Definition

A formal, official verb meaning 'strictly prohibit' — used in laws, government orders, and institutional rules, stronger than the everyday 禁止 ('to forbid'). Typical pattern: [authority] 严令禁止 + [action/phrase].

verb
to strictly prohibitto forbid under severe penalty

Examples

  • 严令禁止。
    Zhèng fǔ yán lìng jìn zhǐ zài gōng gòng chǎng suǒ xī yān.
    The government strictly prohibits smoking in public places.
  • 严令禁止。
    Gōng sī yán lìng jìn zhǐ yuán gōng xiè lòu shāng yè jī mì.
    The company strictly forbids employees from leaking trade secrets.
  • 严令禁止。
    Xué xiào yán lìng jìn zhǐ xué shēng zài kǎo shì zhōng zuò bì.
    The school strictly prohibits students from cheating on exams.

Origin

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 嚴; 严 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
喦喦yántalkative
Sound part声符shēngfú
敢
敢gǎn嚴yán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 嚴 combines 喦 (talkative) and 敢 (daring); the simplified 严 is a later shorthand.

Open 严 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 亼亼jí
  • 卩卩jié

In 令, the upper 亼 is an open mouth and the lower 卩 is a kneeling person, together showing someone giving orders.

Open 令 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
示示shìaltar
Sound part声符shēngfú
林
林lín禁jìn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

禁 has 林 above 示, an altar. The 林 part gives the sound, and the altar part connects the character to taboo or restricted matters.

Open 禁 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

止 was drawn as a footprint pointing up, with three toes and a sole, originally showing a foot.

Open 止 →

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