嚴

嚴 (Kangxi radical 30, 口+17, 20 strokes, cangjie input 口口一一大 (RRMMK), four-corner 6624₈, composition ⿱吅𠪚)

• 儼, 𠘥, 㘙, 壧, 孍, 巗, 𫹪, 𢥴, 𢺘, 𤅙, 玁, 曮, 欕, 𰟻, 𤫠, 𥍓, 礹, 𫀤, 𧟓, 讝, 𧴣, 釅, 𨰫, 𩽴, 麣, 䶫
• 𡗏, 巖, 䕾, 䉷, 𪋹

• 厳 (In Japanese shinjitai)
• 严 (In simplified Chinese)

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 214, character 7
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 4589
• Dae Jaweon: page 436, character 33
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 702, character 2
• Unihan data for U+56B4

Historical forms of the character 嚴
Western Zhou	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Bronze inscriptions	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *ŋam) : semantic 喦 (“talkative”) + phonetic 敢 (OC *klaːmʔ, “daring”) – the original script of 譀 (OC *qʰlaːms, *qʰraːms, *qʰraːb, “exaggerated and absurd words”).

The meanings of “solemn” and “stern” may be a result of phonetic borrowing.

Schuessler (2007) considers 嚴 (OC *ŋam) to be cognate with the following:

• 巖 (OC *ŋraːm, “(of mountains) high; lofty”)
• 儼 (OC *ŋamʔ, “dignified; majestic”)
• 險 (OC *qʰramʔ, “precipitous; dangerous”)
• 業 (OC *ŋab, “lofty; large”) (an allofam with a stop final).

They are all Sino-Tibetan in origin. Cognates in Tibetan include Tibetan རྔམ་པ་ (rngam pa, “splendor; majesty”) and Tibetan རྔམས (rngams, “height; splendor”). Burmese ငြမ်း (ngram:, “scaffold”) may also be a cognate.

嚴

1. strict; rigorous; rigid

   嚴格／严格  ―  yángé  ―  strict; stringent

   嚴謹／严谨  ―  yánjǐn  ―  rigorous; strict

   對自己要求很嚴／对自己要求很严  ―  duì zìjǐ yàoqiú hěn yán  ―  to be strict with oneself

   • 君明而嚴，則群臣忠；君懦而闇，則群臣詐。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     君明而严，则群臣忠；君懦而暗，则群臣诈。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Lü Buwei, Master Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals, 239 BCE

     Jūn míng ér yán, zé qúnchén zhōng; jūn nuò ér ān, zé qúnchén zhà. [Pinyin]

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

2. solemn; majestic; stately; grave

   莊嚴／庄严  ―  zhuāngyán  ―  solemn

   尊嚴／尊严  ―  zūnyán  ―  dignity

3. urgent; pressing

   嚴重／严重  ―  yánzhòng  ―  severe; critical

4. severe; intense

   嚴冬／严冬  ―  yándōng  ―  severe winter; harsh winter

   嚴刑峻法／严刑峻法  ―  yánxíngjùnfǎ  ―  draconian law

5. (of a door, mouth, defense, etc.) tight

   嚴密／严密  ―  yánmì  ―  tight; difficult to penetrate

6. (literary) to respect

   • 凡學之道，嚴師為難。師嚴然後道尊，道尊然後民知敬學。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     凡学之道，严师为难。师严然后道尊，道尊然后民知敬学。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Book of Rites, c. 4^th – 2^nd century BCE

     Fán xué zhī dào, yán shī wéi nán. Shī yán ránhòu dào zūn, dào zūn ránhòu mín zhī jìng xué. [Pinyin]

     In pursuing the course of learning, the difficulty is in securing the proper reverence for the master. When that is done, the course (which he inculcates) is regarded with honour. When that is done, the people know how to respect learning.

   • 於是趙王乃齋戒五日，使臣奉璧，拜送書於庭。何者？嚴大國之威以修敬也。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     于是赵王乃斋戒五日，使臣奉璧，拜送书于庭。何者？严大国之威以修敬也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE

     Yúshì Zhào wáng nǎi zhāijiè wǔ rì, shǐ chén fèng bì, bài sòng shū yú tíng. Hé zhě? Yán dàguó zhī wēi yǐ xiūjìng yě. [Pinyin]

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

7. (literary) to fear

   • 視刺萬乘之君，若刺褐夫。無嚴諸侯，惡聲至，必反之。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     视刺万乘之君，若刺褐夫。无严诸侯，恶声至，必反之。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Mencius, c. 4^th century BCE

     Shì cì wànshèng zhī jūn, ruò cì hèfū. Wú yán zhūhóu, èshēng zhì, bì fǎn zhī. [Pinyin]

     He viewed stabbing a prince of ten thousand chariots just as stabbing a fellow dressed in cloth of hair. He feared not any of all the princes. A bad word addressed to him be always returned.

8. (honorific) father

   家嚴／家严  ―  jiāyán  ―  my father

9. a surname

   嚴復／严复  ―  Yán Fù  ―  Yan Fu (scholar and translator)

• (strict):

• (solemn):

• (severe):

• (father):

• “Entry #12982”, in 臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Minnan] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2023.

(“Jinmeiyō” kanji used for names, kyūjitai kanji, shinjitai form 厳)

1. Kyūjitai form of 厳 (strictness, severity, rigidity)

• Go-on: ごん (gon)^{←ごん (gon, historical)←ごむ (gomu, ancient)}
• Kan-on: げん (gen)^{←げん (gen, historical)←げむ (gemu, ancient)}
• Kun: きびしい (kibishii, 嚴しい); おごそか (ogosoka, 嚴か)