严 yán — strict, severe · English

严

yán

strict, severe

At a glance · 严

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Evolution of the glyph

Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seen
Oracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCE
Seal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCE
Clerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CE
Regular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

⚠ Some ancient forms are not attested：oracle bone form、seal script form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.

严字小篆从吅敢声，为形声字；本义为严厉、庄重（繁體嚴）。甲骨文未见。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

严本义为严厉、严肃、恭敬。

Structure

形声字，上部『吅』为意符表呼喊警惧，下部『敢』为声符。

At a glance

Pinyinyán

Radical一

Strokes7

UnicodeU+4E25

Character type形声

Theme德行

Six languages, one character

Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.

English strict, severe Yan is a phonetic-semantic character meaning strict and severe.

Français strict, sévère Yan est un caractère phonético-sémantique signifiant strict et sévère.

Español estricto, severo Yan es un carácter fonosemántico que significa estricto y severo.

العربية صارم، شديد يان حرف صوتي دلالي يعني الصارم والشديد.

Русский строгий, суровый Янь — фоносемантический знак, означающий строгий и суровый.

Common words

严肃yán sùserious
严格yán géstrict

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