(yán) — HSK 4 Recognition Character: Meaning & Stroke Order

yán strict; severe (as in 严格/严重) HSK 4 recognition character (认读字) · 245 of 291
👁 Recognition only: the official HSK 4 syllabus asks you to recognize 严 when reading — handwriting it is not required (that applies to the 150 writing characters). The stroke animation below is optional but helps memory.

Stroke Order & Practice

Click Animate to see the correct stroke order, then Practice to trace it yourself.

HSK 4 Words Containing 严

yángé strict; stringent
他是一个非常严格的老师。
Tā shì yí gè fēicháng yángé de lǎoshī.
He is a very strict teacher.
yánzhòng serious; severe; grave
这个问题比较严重。
Zhège wèntí bǐjiào yánzhòng.
This problem is quite serious.

Tasks Featuring 严 / 相关任务

Words containing appear in these official HSK 4 task scenarios — study the character in context:

📚 谈论教育现象、观念
Education Phenomena · 严格
yān All Characters yán →

About the character 严

(yán) means strict; severe (as in 严格/严重). It is one of the 150 characters HSK 4 expects you to write from memory. Practice the stroke order until it feels automatic — most learners need 5–10 successful traces before a character "sticks".