Chinese word

恶劣

Pronunciation

Pinyinè liè

Meaning

  • adjectiveawful

Example

外面的天气很恶劣，我们别出门。wài miàn de tiān qì hěn è liè wǒ men bié chū mén

The weather outside is awful, so let's not go out.

Illustration for 恶劣 (awful)

More examples

工厂里有恶劣的环境，安全隐患很多。gōng chǎng lǐ yǒu è liè de huán jìng ān quán yǐn huàn hěn duō

The factory has a poor environment, and there are many safety hazards.

Core concept

Badness with serious consequences, where something is so deficient, damaging, or objectionable that accepting it becomes difficult.

Common phrases

  • 恶劣的天气è liè de tiān qì

    bad weather

  • 恶劣的环境è liè de huán jìng

    poor environment

  • 恶劣的影响è liè de yíng xiǎng

    harmful impact

Similar words

糟糕zāo gāo: Bad or unsatisfactory, leaving a situation in a troublesome state.
严重yán zhòng: Serious in degree, with major effects or consequences.
不良bù liáng: Poor in quality or condition, with an undesirable effect or result.
卑劣bēi liè: Morally vile in behavior or attitude and worthy of strong blame.

Definition in Chinese

形容性质、质量或条件非常坏，令人难以接受或造成严重影响。xíng róng xìng zhì zhì liàng huò tiáo jiàn fēi cháng huài lìng rén nán yǐ jiē shòu huò zào chéng yán zhòng yíng xiǎng

Word origin

The compound 恶 (è, "bad") + 劣 (liè, "inferior") combines a sense of evil with a low level of quality or degree.

Usage tips

  • When it describes a person's actions or attitude, the word can sound like a judgment of character, not just a report that performance is weak.

Other meanings

  • pooradjective
  • maliciousadjective

Opposites

Word lists with this word