严

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tight (closely sealed); stern; strict; rigorous; severe; father

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Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Components 亚厂

strict · Heisig RSH #1353

亚 Asia + cliff

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
大方广佛华严经	dà fāng guǎng Fó huá yán jīng	Avatamsaka sutra of the Huayan school; also called Buddhavatamsaka-mahavaipulya Sutra, the…
义正词严	yì zhèng cí yán	variant of 義正辭嚴\|义正辞严[yi4 zheng4 ci2 yan2]
严格来说	yán gé lái shuō	strictly speaking
严了眼儿	yán le yǎn r	up to the eyeballs; full to overflowing; jampacked
严重性	yán zhòng xìng	seriousness
严重后果	yán zhòng hòu guǒ	grave consequence; serious repercussion
嘴不严	zuǐ bù yán	to have a loose tongue
严重关切	yán zhòng guān qiè	serious concern
华严经	Huá yán jīng	Avatamsaka sutra of the Huayan school; also called Buddhavatamsaka-mahavaipulya Sutra, the…
严岛神社	Yán dǎo Shén shè	Itsukushima Shrine (Shinto shrine in Hiroshima, Japan)
家严	jiā yán	(polite) my father
严重急性呼吸系统综合症	yán zhòng jí xìng hū xī xì tǒng zōng hé zhèng	severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)
严打	yán dǎ	to crack down on; to take severe measures against
严重	yán zhòng	grave; serious; severe; critical
严明	yán míng	strict and impartial; firm
义正辞严	yì zhèng cí yán	(idiom) to speak forcibly out of a sense of righteousness
严加	yán jiā	sternly; strictly; harshly; stringently; rigorously
严格	yán gé	strict; stringent; tight; rigorous
严正	yán zhèng	sternly; solemn
关严	guān yán	to close (a window) completely; to shut (a door) properly; to turn off (a faucet) tightly

These characters use 严 as their sound component — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
严 sound part	yán	strict, rigorous, rigid; stern
俨	yǎn	grave, respectful; majestic