Chinese symbol for “stern”
正色
zhèng sè
stern; grim; resolute; firm
The closest CC-CEDICT match for stern is 正色 (zhèng sè), defined as: stern; grim; resolute; firm; unflinching; fundamental colors.
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Other Chinese words for “stern”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 厉害 (厲害) | lì hai | (used to describe sb or sth that makes a very strong impression, whether favorable or unfavorable) terrible; intense; severe; devastating; amazing; awesome; outstanding; (of a pers |
| 严 (嚴) | yán | tight (closely sealed); stern |
| 冷厉 (冷厲) | lěng lì | stern; unsympathetic; icy |
| 烈 | liè | ardent; intense |
| 凛 (凜) | lǐn | cold; to shiver with cold |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 正色.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 正在 | zhèng zài | to be in the process of (doing sth); to be currently ...-ing |
| 真正 | zhēn zhèng | genuine; real; true; really; indeed |
| 正式 | zhèng shì | formal; official |
| 正常 | zhèng cháng | normal; regular |
| 正确 (正確) | zhèng què | correct; sound; right; proper |
| 正是 | zhèng shì | is precisely |
| 角色 | jué sè | role; part (in a play or movie etc); also pr. [jiao3se4] |
| 特色 | tè sè | a characteristic; a distinctive feature or quality |
See also: Japanese symbol for “stern”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.