危机
wēijī
The Chinese word for 'crisis' is 危机 (wēijī).
危机 refers to an unstable situation within political, social, economic or military affairs. When you want to express the idea of facing or being confronted with a crisis, it is common to use the verb 面临 before 危机.
Meaning: unstable situation in political, social, economic or military affairs (noun)
How do you pronounce it?
wēijī
Did you know?
- A common myth claims that 危机 is composed of the words for 'danger' and 'opportunity'. In reality, the second character 机 means 'mechanism' or 'pivot' and does not mean 'opportunity' on its own.
- The character 危 in 危机 represents a 'cliff' or 'high place' in its ancient form, symbolizing the danger of falling.
- While 危机 is the standard term for a societal crisis, the word 危机感 refers to a 'sense of crisis' or a feeling of urgency. This is frequently used in business culture to motivate employees to work harder.
Examples in context
- 阿尔及利亚正处于经济危机中。Algeria is in the midst of an economic crisis.This sentence shows how to use 危机 in the context of an economic crisis.Tatoeba #8558446 by slo_oth, translation #8558147 by Amastan
- 阿尔及利亚正处于政治危机中。Algeria is in the midst of a political crisis.This sentence shows how to use 危机 in the context of a political crisis.Tatoeba #8558447 by slo_oth, translation #8558146 by Amastan
- 这次疫情带来了危机，但我们也应该看到其中的机遇。This epidemic has brought a crisis, but we should also see the opportunities within it.
- 我们必须立即采取行动应对这个紧急情况。We must take immediate action to address this urgent situation.
- 生存危机Survival crisis
- 这次金融危机影响很大。zhè cì jīn róng wēi jī yǐng xiǎng hěn dà.This financial crisis has a huge impact.
Example conversation
Two colleagues are discussing the current state of the stock market.
- 梓涵 Zihan最近的市场形势很危险。zuì jìn de shì chǎng xíng shì hěn wēi xiǎn.The recent market situation is very dangerous.
- 浩然 Haoran你觉得会有危机吗？nǐ jué de huì yǒu wēi jī ma?Do you think there will be a crisis?
- 梓涵 Zihan很有可能。我们要小心。hěn yǒu kě néng. wǒ men yào xiǎo xīn.It is very likely. We need to be careful.
- 浩然 Haoran我会密切关注的。wǒ huì mì qiè guān zhù de.I will keep a close eye on it.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
