TongTong
Sign in

激烈 (jī liè) — (of competition, fighting) intense, fierce; (of pain, emotions) acute, vehement

Definition

激烈 is 'intense / fierce' for contests, conflict, or heated exchanges (e.g. 比赛, 讨论). It focuses on action and clash; 强烈 is for feelings, light, or reactions, and 剧烈 leans toward physical pain or medical severity.

adjective
(of competition, fighting) intensefierce(of pain, emotions) acutevehement

Examples

  • 激烈。
    Bǐ sài jìn xíng dé hěn jī liè.
    The competition is very intense.
  • 激烈。
    Tā gǎn dào yí zhèn jī liè de téng tòng.
    He felt a sharp pain.
  • 激烈。
    Tā men jìn xíng le jī liè de tǎo lùn.
    They had a heated discussion.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

激jīintense
烈lièfierce

The 'intense' sense of 激 and the 'fierce' sense of 烈 combine to describe intense competition, pain, or emotion.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
敫
敫jiǎo激jī
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 激, the 氵 side marks water, and 敫 gives the sound jiǎo; the original sense is water swashing.

Open 激 →

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
灬Written in full as火huǒfire
Sound part声符shēngfú
列
列liè烈liè
Same sound today

烈 pairs 列 for the sound with 灬, a form of 火 (fire).

Open 烈 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5HSK 2.0 Level 5Good & Bad5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 5 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.