Meaning
沉重 describes something that is heavy in weight or burden. It can refer to physical heaviness, like a heavy object, but is more commonly used metaphorically to describe emotional weight, serious situations, heavy responsibilities, or oppressive atmospheres.
Usage
This word frequently appears in formal or literary contexts to describe psychological burdens, serious topics, or grave situations. When describing physical weight, 重 alone is more common in everyday speech, while 沉重 adds a sense of oppressiveness. Commonly used with words like 心情 (mood), 负担 (burden), 打击 (blow), or 代价 (price).
Examples
- 01听到这个消息后，他的心情变得很沉重。, .After hearing this news, his mood became very heavy.
- 02这次失败给公司带来了沉重的经济损失。.This failure brought heavy economic losses to the company.
Characters
Common collocations
- 沉重的负担heavy burden
- 心情沉重heavy-hearted, in low spirits
- 沉重的打击heavy blow, serious setback
- 代价沉重heavy price, costly
Antonyms
Origin
Both characters relate to heaviness: 沉 originally meant 'to sink in water' (suggesting weight pulling down), and 重 means 'heavy'. Together they intensify the meaning to convey something heavily burdensome.