zhong (重) — heavy, important; again, to repeat in Chinese

simplified

traditional

zhòng

heavy; important; serious (zhòng) · again; to repeat; a layer (chóng)

HSK 1 笔画 9 部首里 (within) 多音字 zhòng · chóng all zhong readings →

~7 min read

笔顺 bǐshùn · Stroke order

部首 radical (里) 部件 component (rest of character) 书写 your drawing

Click the character to replay. Press Try drawing to write it yourself.

字源 zìyuán Etymology & Structure

字源洞见 zìyuán dòngjiàn · Etymological Insight

重 began as the image of a figure bearing a heavy load. The early bronze forms show a person standing with a bundle slung across the body, the whole shape weighed down by what is carried. The original sense is therefore physical weight, and from weight came the two great branches of meaning that split into two readings.

Read zhòng, 重 is about weight and the importance that flows from it. What is heavy presses down, demands attention, cannot be ignored: 重要 zhòngyào (important), 重量 zhòngliàng (weight), 严重 yánzhòng (grave). Things that matter are, in Chinese as in English, things that carry weight.

Read chóng, 重 shifts from weight to layering. A load piled on a load is a second layer, a repetition: 重复 chóngfù (to repeat), 重新 chóngxīn (anew), 双重 shuāngchóng (double). Here the character means again, once more, in layers.

The thread joining both readings is accumulation. Pile weight on a figure and you get heaviness, hence importance (zhòng). Pile one layer on another and you get repetition, hence again (chóng). One glyph, one image of loading, two sounds for its two consequences.

构词 gòucí Word-Formation Patterns

构词规律 gòucí guīlǜ · Two Readings, One Image 重 as zhòng (heavy) → 重量 weight · 体重 body weight · 举重 weightlifting
重 as zhòng (important) → 重要 important · 重视 to value · 重点 key point · 严重 grave
重 as chóng (again) → 重复 to repeat · 重新 anew · 重逢 to reunite
重 as chóng (layer) → 双重 double · 重叠 to overlap · 重重 layer upon layer

辨析 biànxī · Telling zhòng from chóng Read zhòng when the sense is weight or importance: 很重 (very heavy), 重要 (important), 严重 (serious). Read chóng when the sense is again, repeated, or layered: 重做 (to redo), 重来 (start over), 重复 (to repeat). A useful test: if you could swap in 又 yòu (again) or 再 zài (once more), it is almost always chóng. If you could swap in 沉 chén (heavy) or 要 (important), it is zhòng.

重要 zhòngyào Heavy & Important (zhòng)

重要 zhòngyào important; significant; major

ADJ 形容词 xíngróngcí

重 zhòng (heavy; weighty) + 要 yào (essential). What carries weight and so cannot be set aside: 重要的事 "an important matter," 很重要 "very important." The most common 重 word a learner meets.

这是一个很重要的问题。

Zhè shì yí ge hěn zhòngyào de wèntí.

This is a very important question.

重量 zhòngliàng weight (the physical quantity)

N 名词 míngcí

重 zhòng (heavy) + 量 liàng (quantity; measure). The amount of heaviness, weight as measured: 重量很轻 "the weight is light." The bodily version is 体重 tǐzhòng, one's body weight.

这个箱子的重量超过了限制。

Zhège xiāngzi de zhòngliàng chāoguò le xiànzhì.

This box's weight exceeds the limit.

重视 zhòngshì to value; to attach importance to; to take seriously

V 动词 dòngcí

重 zhòng (to weigh heavily) + 视 shì (to regard; to view). To treat something as carrying weight, to give it due attention: 重视教育 "to value education." Its opposite is 忽视 hūshì, to overlook.

公司很重视员工的意见。

Gōngsī hěn zhòngshì yuángōng de yìjiàn.

The company values its employees' opinions.

严重 yánzhòng Weight & Gravity (zhòng)

严重 yánzhòng serious; grave; severe

ADJ 形容词 xíngróngcí

严 yán (stern; severe) + 重 zhòng (heavy). Weighty in the sense of grave consequence: 严重的问题 "a serious problem," 病得很严重 "gravely ill." Reserved for matters that truly weigh.

情况比我们想的更严重。

Qíngkuàng bǐ wǒmen xiǎng de gèng yánzhòng.

The situation is more serious than we thought.

重点 zhòngdiǎn key point; focus; emphasis

N 名词 míngcí

重 zhòng (heavy; weighty) + 点 diǎn (point). The heavy point, the part that matters most. 重点大学 "key universities," 划重点 "to mark the key points."

请把重点画出来。

Qǐng bǎ zhòngdiǎn huà chūlái.

Please underline the key points.

体重 tǐzhòng body weight

N 名词 míngcí

体 tǐ (body) + 重 zhòng (weight). How much a person weighs: 量体重 "to weigh oneself." The weight that the body itself carries.

医生让我量一下体重。

Yīshēng ràng wǒ liáng yíxià tǐzhòng.

The doctor asked me to weigh myself.

重复 chóngfù Again & Layered (chóng)

语义洞见 yǔyì dòngjiàn · Semantic Insight

Switch the reading to chóng and 重 stops weighing and starts stacking. The core idea is one thing laid over another: a second layer, a second time, a doing-over. 重复 chóngfù is to repeat, to say or do the same thing again. 重新 chóngxīn is to start afresh, from the top. 重逢 chóngféng is to meet again after long parting. And 双重 shuāngchóng is double, two layers at once.

The clue is almost always a sense of "again" or "another layer." 重做 chóng zuò is to redo; 重来 chóng lái is to start over; 重写 chóng xiě is to rewrite. Wherever an action is being done a second time or piled into layers, 重 is read chóng, not zhòng. Keep the test in mind: if "again" fits, it is chóng.

重复 chóngfù to repeat; to duplicate; repetition

V/N 动名词 dòngmíngcí

重 chóng (again) + 复 fù (to return; again). To do or say the same thing over: 重复一遍 "to repeat once more." Note the chóng reading: a common error is to read it zhòng.

请你重复一遍刚才的话。

Qǐng nǐ chóngfù yí biàn gāngcái de huà.

Please repeat what you just said.

重新 chóngxīn anew; afresh; once more (from the start)

ADV 副词 fùcí

重 chóng (again) + 新 xīn (new). To do something over from a fresh start: 重新开始 "to start anew," 重新考虑 "to reconsider." Stronger than a plain 又, it implies a clean slate.

我们需要重新考虑这个计划。

Wǒmen xūyào chóngxīn kǎolǜ zhège jìhuà.

We need to reconsider this plan.

双重 shuāngchóng double; dual; twofold

ADJ 形容词 xíngróngcí

双 shuāng (pair; double) + 重 chóng (layer). Two layers of the same thing: 双重标准 "double standard," 双重身份 "dual identity." Here 重 is the layer-counting chóng.

他有双重国籍。

Tā yǒu shuāngchóng guójí.

He has dual citizenship.

成语 chéngyǔ Idioms & Set Phrases

重于泰山 zhòng yú tài shān weightier than Mount Tai: of the gravest possible significance From Sima Qian: a death may be 重于泰山 (weightier than Mt Tai) or 轻于鸿毛 (lighter than a goose feather), depending on what it is given for. The zhòng reading, weight as worth.

任重道远 rèn zhòng dào yuǎn the burden is heavy and the road is long: a grave and lasting responsibility From the Analects, on the scholar who must be strong-willed because his charge is weighty (重) and his way far. The zhòng reading.

旧事重提 jiù shì chóng tí to bring up an old matter again: to reopen a settled affair Lit: old-matter-again-raise. The chóng reading, again. Said when someone dredges up a past issue better left closed.

重蹈覆辙 chóng dǎo fù zhé to follow the overturned cart's tracks again: to repeat a past disaster Lit: again-tread-overturned-ruts. The chóng reading. To make the same ruinous mistake that wrecked others before, having failed to learn from it.

记忆法 jìyìfǎ · Master Retention Image

Picture a figure with a heavy bundle loaded onto the back. Feel the weight, and you have zhòng: what is heavy presses down and so matters (重要), grows grave (严重), demands to be valued (重视). Weight becomes worth.

Now stack a second bundle on the first. The new layer is chóng: a thing done over (重复), started afresh (重新), doubled (双重). Weight becomes repetition. The single test that never fails: if you can say "again," read chóng; if you can say "heavy" or "important," read zhòng.