How to say “stern” in Chinese
stern, severe (tone, measure)
“Stern” in Chinese is 严厉, yán lì: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
严厉 is read yán lì: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
Sounds like 历 lì: that one has 力 inside, this one has 万.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “严厉”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 严厉. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 老师严厉地批评了他lǎoshīyánlìdepīpíngletāThe teacher gave him a stern telling-off.
More words from the lesson “Strict and resolute”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “stern” in Chinese?
“Stern” in Chinese is 严厉, pinyin yánlì.
What does 严厉 mean?
严厉 (yánlì) means “stern, severe (tone, measure)”.
How do you write 严厉?
严厉 is 2 characters: 严 (yán) — strict, severe; 厉 (lì) — strict, severe; strong. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 严厉?
严厉 is read yánlì. Tones: yán — second tone, lì — fourth tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“stern” in the lesson “Strict and resolute”
This word is from the topic “Character and behavior” of HSK 6. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
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