Comparing “yánsù” and “yángé”
严肃 vs 严格
Comparison section · original #35 · level order #128
How it works
Both 严肃 (yánsù) and 严格 (yángé) can describe seriousness, but they focus on different aspects.
严肃 (yánsù) means serious, often in attitude, expression, atmosphere, or topic. It can describe a person’s face, manner, or the nature of a situation.
严格 (yángé) means strict. It usually describes rules, standards, requirements, control, or a person’s way of managing others.
So the basic difference is:
严肃 (yánsù) = serious in attitude, expression, or situation
严格 (yángé) = strict in standard, requirement, or control
Example sentences
看到老师突然变得这么严肃，大家立刻安静了下来。
Seeing the teacher suddenly become so serious, everyone immediately quieted down.
这并不是开玩笑的事，我们应该用更严肃的态度来对待。
This is not something to joke about; we should treat it with a more serious attitude.
学校对学生的出勤要求一直比较严格。
The school has always been rather strict about attendance requirements for students.
他对自己要求很严格，所以工作上很少出错。
He is very strict with himself, so he rarely makes mistakes at work.
Key point
A person can be 严肃 (yánsù) in expression, but 严格 (yángé) in standards. The two can appear together, but they are not interchangeable.