严明 (yán míng) — (stative verb) strict and impartial (of discipline, regulations, etc.); (verb) to strictly enforce (discipline, rules)

Definition

严明 (yánmíng) is a formal adjective used mainly for discipline, rules, or law — meaning both 'strict and fair' and, as a verb, 'to strictly enforce'. The verb sense is more common in official or written contexts than in everyday speech.

adjective
(stative verb) strict and impartial (of discipline, regulations, etc.)
verb
to strictly enforce (discipline, rules)

Examples

  • 严明。
    Zhè ge gōng sī de jì lǜ fēi cháng yán míng.
    This company's discipline is very strict and impartial.
  • 严明，。
    Xué xiào yán míng xiào guī, wéi jì zhě bì shòu chǔ fèn.
    The school strictly enforces its rules; violators will be punished.
  • 严明，。
    Fǎ guān yán míng zhí fǎ, yíng dé le mín zhòng de xìn rèn.
    The judge strictly and impartially enforced the law, winning the trust of the people.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

严yánstrict
明míngimpartial

严 strict and 明 impartial combine to mean strict and fair.

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.

明 combines 日 (sun) and 月 (moon), showing the sun just rising while the moon has not yet set, or two bright objects in the sky, to express brightness.

Open 明 →

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