Definitions

zhòng (adjective) heavy; serious; important
zhòng (verb) to attach importance to
chóng (verb) to repeat; again
chóng (classifier) layer; level

Etymology

Pictograph of a person () carrying a heavy basket () on their back.

About

The character "重" derives from an early conceptual representation of a person bearing a substantial burden, which firmly established its original sense of physical weight. Its structural composition, which later came to be associated with ideas of density and accumulation, reflects an abstract understanding of heaviness and substance. Over centuries, the semantic scope of the character extended from denoting mere mass to encompassing figurative dimensions of importance, gravity, and high value. Additionally, it acquired a separate phonetic reading and meaning related to repetition or redundancy, a semantic development likely influenced by the notion of layering or piling, which conceptually aligns with adding weight. These dual meanings of weight and repetition have been maintained within its unchanged graphical form across the long course of its usage.

Etymology Hide

Oracle etymology image
Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)
Bronze etymology image
Bronze Late Shang dynasty (~1100 BC)
Bronze etymology image
Bronze Late Shang dynasty (~1100 BC)
Bronze etymology image
Bronze Late Shang dynasty (~1100 BC)
Bronze etymology image
Bronze Late Shang dynasty (~1100 BC)
Bronze etymology image
Bronze Early Western Zhou (~1000 BC)
Bronze etymology image
Bronze Early Warring States (~400 BC)
Bronze etymology image
Bronze Warring States (475-221 BC)
Seal etymology image
Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)
Seal etymology image
Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)
Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

这本书很要。

Zhè běn shū hěn zhòngyào.

This book is very important.

新开始工作。

Wǒ chóngxīn kāishǐ gōngzuò.

I start work again.

这是今天的点。

Zhè shì jīntiān de zhòngdiǎn.

This is today's key point.

复你说的话。

Qǐng chóngfù nǐ shuō de huà.

Please repeat what you said.

这个箱子的量很大。

Zhège xiāngzi de zhòngliàng hěn dà.

The weight of this box is very heavy.

学校视学生的安全。

Xuéxiào zhòngshì xuéshēng de ānquán.

The school values the students' safety.

他的心情很沉

Tā de xīnqíng hěn chénzhòng.

His mood is very heavy.

这两张图片完全叠。

Zhè liǎng zhāng túpiàn wánquán chóngdié.

These two pictures completely overlap.