严格
yángé · HSK 4
rigorously enforce
⚖️ 严 = stern + 格 = standard; together = strict standard, rigorously enforced
严 carries the sense of severe or stern; 格 means a standard, rule, or framework. A 严格 rule is one held to a stern standard — tight, grim, rigorously enforced with no slack.
严 — mouth 口 (top) + cliff 厂 + 敢 (phonetic)
严 (traditional 嚴) originally depicted shouting mouths 吅 over a cliff 厂 with 敢 'dare' as the phonetic, suggesting a stern command issued from on high. The core meaning shifted from 'urgent shouting' to 'strict, severe, solemn'. The simplified form 严 keeps the top mouth and cliff while dropping most of the phonetic.
格 — wood 木 + 各 (each, phonetic)
格 is a semantic-phonetic compound: 木 (wood) gives the meaning, originally referring to a wooden frame, lattice, or crossbar, while 各 supplies the sound. From 'frame/grid' the meaning extended to 'pattern, standard, style' and the modern senses of 'square (in a grid)' and 'character/disposition'.