危险
wēixiǎn
The Chinese word for "dangerous" is 危险 (wēixiǎn).
危险 is the most common and general way to express that something is causing danger or is ready to do harm. It can be used to describe people, such as in the phrase 危险人物 to mean a "dangerous person" or a person of interest.
Meaning: causing danger, ready to do harm or injury (adj)
How does it change in a sentence?
When using 危险 as an adjective to modify a noun, you often add the particle 的 after it. When you are describing a state or a quality using the adjective, it is more natural in Chinese to use the adverb 很 before 危险 instead of using the verb 是 (to be).
How do you pronounce it?
wēixiǎn
Did you know?
- The character 危 originally depicted a person on the edge of a cliff. This visual history emphasizes that the core of 'danger' in Chinese is rooted in the threat of falling.
- The character 险 (xiǎn) is also used in the word for 'insurance', 《保险》 (bǎoxiǎn), which literally translates to 'protecting against risk'.
- In certain dialects or informal contexts, someone might describe a situation as 凶 (xiōng), which literally means 'fierce' or 'ferocious', to imply a sense of danger.
Examples in context
- 风暴是危险的。The storm is dangerous.This sentence shows how to describe a storm as being dangerous using 危险.Tatoeba #10695965 by GlossaMatik, translation #2841204 by AlanF_US
- 胎盘早剥很危险。Early removal of the placenta is very dangerous.This sentence demonstrates how to use 危险 to describe a medical condition.Tatoeba #10041969 by slo_oth, translation #10042491 by JumJum
- 国家是危险的机器。A country is a dangerous machine.This sentence shows 危险 being used to describe a machine.Tatoeba #2145067 by sadhen, translation #2160079 by FeuDRenais2
- 这个地方晚上很不安全。This place is very unsafe at night.
- 这项活动有一定的风险需要小心。This activity has some risks, so you need to be careful.
- 35 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Wei and Yuting are walking in a park.
- 伟 Wei那边那个悬崖很危险。Nà biān nàge xuányá hěn wēixiǎn.That cliff over there is dangerous.
- 雨婷 Yuting我们离远一点吧。Wǒmen lí yuǎn yìdiǎn ba.Let's stay away from it.
- 伟 Wei雨婷，你小心点。Yǔtíng, nǐ xiǎoxīn diǎn.Yuting, be careful.
- 雨婷 Yuting我知道，我会注意的。Wǒ zhīdào, wǒ huì zhùyì de.I know, I will be careful.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
