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危急 (wēi jí) — critical, desperate (of a situation)

Definition

危急 stresses an immediate, life-or-death moment (a crisis about to break), stronger than 严重 (gravely bad) and more time-pressured than 紧急 (urgently needing action). Collocates with 时刻/情况/病情.

adjective
criticaldesperate (of a situation)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 危急，。
    Qíng kuàng fēi cháng wēi jí, wǒ men bì xū mǎ shàng xíng dòng.
    The situation is very critical; we must act immediately.
  • 危急，。
    Zài wēi jí shí kè, tā bǎo chí le lěng jìng.
    At the critical moment, he remained calm.
  • 危急。
    Tā de bìng qíng shí fēn wēi jí.
    His condition is very critical.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

危wēidangerous
急jíurgent

危急 joins 危 meaning dangerous with 急 meaning urgent, giving a critical situation.

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
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
及
及jí急jí
Same sound today

急 pairs 心 (heart) with 及, which gives the sound.

Open 急 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Safety & Danger

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