重于泰山

重於泰山
zhòngyú-tàishān
idiom #50,165

Meanings

  1. 1 weightier than Mount Tai
  2. 2 of utmost importance or gravity

Examples

HSK 3
Duì yīshēng láishuō, bìngrén de shēngmìng zhòngyú-tàishān.
For a doctor, a patient's life weighs heavier than Mount Tai.
HSK 6
Tā bǎ chéngnuò kàn de zhòngyú-tàishān.
He takes a promise as weighty as Mount Tai.
HSK 7-9
重于泰山轻于鸿毛
Rén gù yǒu yī sǐ, huò zhòngyú-tàishān, huò qīngyú-hóngmáo.
Everyone must die once. Some deaths are weightier than Mount Tai, others lighter than a feather.

Tips

history
From Sima Qian's 《报任少卿书》 (Han dynasty): 'everyone must die, but some deaths are weightier than Mount Tai, others lighter than a feather' (或重于泰山或轻于鸿毛). Pair it with its antonym 轻于鸿毛 to preserve the original contrast.
culture
Mount Tai (泰山) is the foremost of the Five Sacred Mountains, long used in Chinese writing as the archetype of immovable weight and importance.

Stroke Order

zhòng
tài
shān