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严禁 (yán jìn) — to strictly prohibit; to forbid

Definition

严禁 is a formal, written 'strictly prohibit' — stronger than the neutral 禁止, typically seen in rules and public notices. Unlike 不许/不准, it isn't used for casual commands between people.

verb
to strictly prohibitto forbid

Examples

  • 严禁。
    Gōng sī yán jìn yuán gōng chí dào.
    The company strictly prohibits employees from being late.
  • 严禁。
    Tú shū guǎn yán jìn dà shēng shuō huà.
    The library strictly prohibits speaking loudly.
  • 严禁。
    Kǎo chǎng yán jìn shǐ yòng shǒu jī.
    The exam room strictly prohibits using mobile phones.

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yánstrict
禁jìnforbid

“严” means strict or strictly and “禁” means to prohibit, so together they mean to forbid strictly.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
示示shìaltar
Sound part声符shēngfú
林
林lín禁jìn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

禁 has 林 above 示, an altar. The 林 part gives the sound, and the altar part connects the character to taboo or restricted matters.

Open 禁 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6Law & Justice

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