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严谨 (yán jǐn) — rigorous, meticulous, careful, strict

Definition

Stresses careful, precise work — 'rigorous, meticulous' (methods, scholarship, arguments). 严格 is stricter about rules and people; 严密 is tighter about coverage and security, not personal character.

adjective
rigorousmeticulouscarefulstrict

Examples

  • 严谨，。
    Zhè wèi jiào shòu zhì xué fēi cháng yán jǐn, cóng bú fàng guò rèn hé xì jié.
    This professor is very rigorous in his scholarship and never overlooks any detail.
  • 严谨，。
    Zhè piān bào gào de lùn zhèng bú gòu yán jǐn, xū yào zài xiū gǎi.
    The argument in this report isn't rigorous enough; it needs more revision.
  • 严谨。
    Tā men yòng yán jǐn de fāng fǎ wán chéng le shí yàn.
    They completed the experiment using rigorous methods.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

严yánstrict
谨jǐncareful

严 means 'strict' and 谨 means 'careful'; together they describe a meticulous, careful manner.

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 謹; 谨 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánspeech
Sound part声符shēngfú
堇
堇jǐn謹jǐn
Same sound today

The traditional form 謹 has 言, speech, beside 堇, which gives the sound; the whole character means to speak cautiously. The simplified 谨 is a shorthand.

Open 谨 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Personality & Traits

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