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严惩 (yán chéng) — to punish severely; to mete out strict punishment

Definition

严惩 (yánchéng) is a formal/written verb meaning 'to punish severely,' used for legal, official, or institutional contexts (law, company, school policy). It emphasizes the strictness and decisiveness of the punishment rather than a specific penalty.

verb
to punish severelyto mete out strict punishment

Examples

  • 严惩。
    Fǎ lǜ duì zhè zhǒng xíng wéi huì yán chéng bú dài.
    The law will punish this kind of behavior severely without leniency.
  • 严惩。
    Gōng sī duì tān wū shòu huì de yuán gōng yí lǜ yán chéng.
    The company will severely punish any employee involved in embezzlement or bribery.
  • ，严惩。
    Kǎo shì zuò bì bèi fā xiàn, xué xiào huì yán chéng bú dài.
    If cheating on exams is discovered, the school will punish severely and without delay.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

严yánsevere
惩chéngpunish

'严' adds severity to '惩', punishment, giving to punish severely.

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 →

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 懲; 惩 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīn
Sound part声符shēngfú
徵
徵zhǐ懲chéng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 懲 pairs 心 (heart) with 徵 as its sound part; the simplified 惩 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical components.

Open 惩 →
Appears in
Law & Justice

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