重要
important
HSK level
- Pinyin
- zhòngyào
- Part of speech
- adjective
- Level
- HSK 3
- Strokes
- 18
- Register
- neutral
- In episodes
- 6
Stroke order for 重要
重要 is written with 18 strokes (重: 9, 要: 9). The animation replays automatically.
What does 重要 mean?
重要 (zhòngyào) is the standard adjective for 'important,' 'significant,' or 'crucial.'
Use it for people, events, decisions, documents — anything that carries weight or consequence: 重要的人 ('important person'), 重要的事 ('important matter'), 这很重要 ('this is very important'). Two notes for learners. First, like most Chinese adjectives, 重要 takes 很 in front when used predicatively: 这很重要 ('this is important'), not 这是重要 — the 是 form sounds wrong unless you add 的: 这是重要的.
Second, the character 重 alone can mean either 'heavy' (zhòng) or 'to repeat' (chóng); in 重要 it's the 'heavy/weighty' meaning that carries the sense of importance — literally 'heavy and essential.' For 'serious/grave' (an illness, an incident), use 严重 (yánzhòng) instead.
Character by character
Memory hook: 重 (heavy) + 要 (essential) — 'heavy and essential.' Important things have weight.
Hear 重要 in real episodes
重要 appears in 6 Fluentide podcast episodes at natural native speed, 4 of them below. Each sentence plays at the easiest difficulty it exists in — switch it to hear the same moment at your level, with full pinyin and English throughout.
进入轨道为什么这么重要？
Why does reaching orbit matter so much?
Starship Reaches Orbit for the First Time, Deploys 26 Starlink Satellites — Then Comes Home Early
你觉得，一个运动员最重要的是身体，还是想赢的心？
What do you think matters most for an athlete — their body, or their will to win?
Belgium's 'Aerobullet' Remco Evenepoel Won a Fourth Straight Time-Trial World Title — Then Finished 12th in the Road Race
中国外交部公布了八点共识，我们说其中最重要的几点。
China's foreign ministry published an eight-point consensus; let's look at the most important points.
Xi's First Washington Visit in 11 Years: Pageantry, a Pair of Pandas and a Two-Month Trade TruceIntermediate
后来买沃尔沃的过程，又让他看到公司怎么管有多重要。
Later, the process of buying Volvo showed him how much company governance matters.
The Man Who Bought Volvo Just Handed His Carmaker to Someone Who Is Not Family
Example sentences
这件事很重要。
Zhè jiàn shì hěn zhòngyào.
This matter is very important.
neutral
家人比工作更重要。
Jiārén bǐ gōngzuò gèng zhòngyào.
Family is more important than work.
spoken
他是公司里最重要的人。
Tā shì gōngsī lǐ zuì zhòngyào de rén.
He is the most important person in the company.
neutral
我有一个重要的会议。
Wǒ yǒu yí ge zhòngyào de huìyì.
I have an important meeting.
neutral
健康比什么都重要。
Jiànkāng bǐ shénme dōu zhòngyào.
Health is more important than anything.
spoken
Common phrases with 重要
Synonyms
要紧 means 'important' but often with urgency, especially in negative questions: 不要紧 ('it doesn't matter / no big deal'). 重要 is the neutral 'important'; 要紧 carries 'pressing/urgent.'
Don't confuse 重要 with
严重 means 'serious/grave' for problems, illnesses, or situations with negative consequences. 重要 means 'important' (carrying weight, mattering). A 严重 problem is bad; a 重要 problem matters.
主要 means 'main/primary,' picking out the chief one. 重要 means 'important,' assigning weight. The 主要 actor is the lead; an 重要 actor is a significant figure.
重 alone means 'heavy' (zhòng) or 'again/repeat' (chóng). 重要 is the compound 'important.' Don't use 重 alone to mean 'important.'
Frequently asked questions
Related words from the same episodes
Acquire it by listening
Meet 重要 again — in real Chinese, at your level.
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