危机感 (wēi jī gǎn) — a sense of crisis; feeling of impending danger or urgency

Definition

A 'sense of crisis' — the feeling of urgency or impending danger that pushes you to act, not the danger itself. Common in formal writing about business, competition, or society.

noun
a sense of crisisfeeling of impending danger or urgency

Examples

  • ，危机感。
    Miàn duì jīng jì xià huá, xǔ duō qǐ yè dōu yǒu yì zhǒng qiáng liè de wēi jī gǎn.
    Facing economic downturn, many companies have a strong sense of crisis.
  • ，危机感。
    Zài zhè ge jìng zhēng jī liè de háng yè, wǒ men bì xū bǎo chí wēi jī gǎn.
    In this highly competitive industry, we must maintain a sense of crisis.
  • 危机感。
    Tā de wēi jī gǎn ràng tā bú duàn xué xí xīn jì néng.
    His sense of crisis drives him to keep learning new skills.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

危机crisis
危wēidanger机jīoccasion
联合Side by side
感gǎnfeeling

危机 means crisis, and 感 gives the idea of a feeling.

Characters in this word

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

  • 厃厃wěiperson on a cliff or mountain
  • 卩卩jiékneeling person

危 is built from 厃, showing a person on a cliff or mountain, and 卩, showing a kneeling person.

Open 危 →

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
木木mùtree; wood
Sound part声符shēngfú
几
几jǐ机jī
Same sound today

The left part is 木 (tree; wood), and the right part 几 gives the sound.

Open 机 →

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
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
咸
咸xián感gǎn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

感 pairs 咸, which gives the sound, with 心, the heart, for feeling.

Open 感 →

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