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郑重 (zhèng zhòng) — serious, solemn, earnest

Definition

郑重 describes the serious, deliberate manner in which someone says or does something (a promise, a statement, a handshake). It pairs naturally with 声明, 承诺, 提醒; 严肃 is about a person's bearing or a topic's gravity, 庄重 about dignified composure.

adjective
serioussolemnearnest

Examples

  • 郑重。
    Tā zhèng zhòng dì wò le wò wǒ de shǒu.
    He shook my hand solemnly.
  • 郑重，。
    Zhè shì yí gè zhèng zhòng de chéng nuò, bù néng suí biàn shuō.
    This is a solemn promise that cannot be made lightly.
  • 郑重，。
    Gōng sī zhèng zhòng shēng míng, jué bù yǔn xǔ zhè zhǒng xíng wéi.
    The company solemnly declares that this kind of behavior will never be tolerated.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

郑zhèngsolemn
重zhòngweighty

郑 and 重 both carry solemn, weighty senses, so together they mean serious and earnest.

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 鄭; 郑 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
邑邑yì
Sound part声符shēngfú
奠
奠diàn鄭Zhèng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 鄭 uses 奠 to give the sound and 邑, a settlement, for the state name; the simplified 郑 is a later abbreviation.

Open 郑 →

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
人人rénman
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.

Open 重 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Attitudes & Opinions

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