---
title: "Yanli Meaning: 严厉 (stern) or 艳丽 (gorgeous)?"
description: "严厉 (traditional 嚴厲, yánlì) means “stern; severe”. Not the yanli you heard? See 艳丽. Hear its tones, see what 严 and 厉 each mean and a real sentence that uses it."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/yanli"
published: "2026-10-21"
updated: "2026-11-06"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[What does it mean in Chinese?](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning)

# What does 严厉 mean?

猫头鹰māotóuyīngowl

严厉 yánlì

## stern; severe

## Its characters

1. 严 yán strict
2. 厉 lì severe

## In a sentence

这位老师对学生很严厉。 This teacher is very strict with students.

[More about 严厉](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E4%B8%A5%E5%8E%89)

## Other words said yanli

- [艳丽yànlìgorgeous](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E8%89%B3%E4%B8%BD)

## More words with 严 or 厉

- [厉害 lìhai](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/lihai)
- [厉害了 lìhaile](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/lihaile)
- [严格 yángé](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/yange)
- [严禁 yánjìn](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/yanjin)
- [严峻 yánjùn](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/yanjun)
- [严肃 yánsù](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/yansu)
- [严重 yánzhòng](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/yanzhong)

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