慎重 (shèn zhòng) — cautious, careful, prudent | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

慎重 means 'cautious, prudent' — formal, used for important decisions and serious matters. Stronger and more weighty than 仔细 or 细心 (everyday carefulness), and very close to 谨慎 but slightly more decisive.

adjective

cautiouscarefulprudent

Examples

慎重。
Zuò jué dìng zhī qián yí dìng yào shèn zhòng kǎo lǜ.
Be sure to consider it carefully before making a decision.
慎重，。
Tā duì dài gōng zuò fēi cháng shèn zhòng, cóng bù mǎ hu.
He is very cautious with his work and never sloppy.
，慎重。
Zhè jiàn shì guān xì dào gōng sī wèi lái, bì xū shèn zhòng chǔ lǐ.
This matter concerns the company's future and must be handled prudently.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

慎shèncareful

重zhòngserious

'慎' and '重' combine as careful and serious, giving prudence.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

真

真zhēn慎shèn

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 慎, the left part 心 points to the mind or feeling, while the right part 真 supplies the sound.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

東

東dōng重zhòng

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

重 developed from a picture of a man carrying a bag, with 人 for the man and 東 for the bag; a later ground element was folded into the form.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 HSK 2.0 Level 6 Personality & Traits

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