要紧

• Pinyin: yào jǐn
• Hanzi breakdown: 要 = important/essential; 紧 = 臤 (tightly grasped) + 糸 (thread — something pulled taut, hence urgent or critical)

Meaning

Important; urgent; serious. Describes something that matters greatly or requires immediate attention.

A versatile adjective/predicate used to ask or assert whether something is serious or important. Common in medical contexts (伤得要紧吗 — is the injury serious?), prioritisation (最要紧的是 — the most important thing is), and casual reassurance (不要紧 — it's okay / it doesn't matter).

Examples

1. 医生检查后说骨折不算要紧，静养几周应该可以完全恢复，不需要手术。 After examining him, the doctor said the fracture wasn’t serious; with a few weeks of rest, it should fully recover, and surgery isn’t needed.
2. 眼下最要紧的是稳定军心，其余的部署等局势明朗之后再逐步调整。 Right now, the most urgent thing is to steady morale; other plans can be adjusted step by step once the situation becomes clearer.
3. 你先去忙吧，这边不要紧，等你有空的时候再来帮我也不迟。 Go ahead and take care of your work—things are fine here. Come help me when you have time; there’s no rush.

Usage Guide

Context: healthcare, prioritisation, reassurance, everyday

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 在所有待处理的事项中，最要紧的是尽快向客户发出书面说明，避免因信息滞后引发不必要的误解和恐慌，其他内部的善后工作可以稍后再跟进。(Among all the pending matters, the most important thing is to issue a written explanation to the client as soon as possible to avoid unnecessary misunderstanding and panic arising from delayed information; other internal follow-up work can be addressed afterwards.)
• 他在训练中扭伤了脚踝，队医检查后表示伤情不要紧，只是轻微的软组织损伤，敷冰消肿后休息两天便可恢复正常训练。(He sprained his ankle during training; after examination the team doctor said the injury was not serious — merely a mild soft tissue injury — and that he could resume normal training after two days of rest with ice applied to reduce the swelling.)

Don't Say

• 这件事情非常要紧紧 — 要紧 is not reduplicated; 紧 is already part of the word; say 这件事情非常要紧 or 这件事极为重要; reduplication 要紧紧 is not standard

Origin & History

要 (important/must) + 紧 (tight/urgent — 臤 tightly held + 糸 thread; something pulled taut, hence urgent)

Cultural Context

Era: Classical/Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal