Dictionary › 厉害

厉害

lì hai

Old HSK 4 HSK 3.0 level 4 2-character word Traditional 厲害

厉害 (lì hai) means "(used to describe sb or sth that makes a very strong impression, whether favorable or unfavorable) terrible". It is an HSK 3.0 level 4 word, and was HSK 4 in the old six-level list.

What 厉害 means

1. (used to describe sb or sth that makes a very strong impression, whether favorable or unfavorable) terrible; intense; severe; devastating; amazing; awesome; outstanding
2. (of a person) stern; strict; harsh; shrewd; tough
3. (of an animal) fierce
4. (of a resemblance) striking
5. (of liquor or chili pepper) strong
6. (of bacteria) virulent

The characters in 厉害

• 厉lìstrict; severe
• 害hàito do harm to; to cause trouble to; harm

Example sentences

• 我非常厉害。
  I'm a bad-ass.
• 我烧得很厉害。
  Wǒ shāo dehěn lìhai.
  I have a high fever.
• 我牙痛得厉害。
  Wǒ yátòng de lìhai.
  I have a bad toothache.
• 我头疼得厉害。
  I have a bad headache.
• 她游泳很厉害。
  She swims brilliantly well.
• 我头痛得厉害。
  I'm suffering from a bad headache.

Sounds the same

Read lì hai, tone for tone, but written differently.

• 利害variant of 厉害

Where 厉害 is taught

In the GraphChinese course it is part of Descriptions & quality (HSK 4), each one a topic in the dependency graph of HSK 1–6 that opens only once its prerequisites are solid.

Go deeper

• Every HSK 4 word, with the rest of its level.
• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read lì hai correctly.
• Look up another word in the free dictionary.