厉害lì haiterrible; intense; severe; devastating; amazing; awesome; outstanding

1. 1.

   terrible; intense; severe; devastating; amazing; awesome; outstandingadjective

2. 2.

   (of a person) stern; strict; harsh; shrewd; toughadjective

• 厉severe
• 害not compositional here

厉害 often follows 很, 真, or 太…了, and can be praise or a complaint depending on context.

1. HSK 6

   你真厉害！

   Nǐ zhēn lìhai!

   You are really amazing!

2. HSK 6

   今天的风很厉害。

   Jīntiān de fēng hěn lìhai.

   The wind is very strong today.

3. HSK 6

   他的老师很厉害，上课不让说话。

   Tā de lǎoshī hěn lìhai, shàngkè bú ràng shuōhuà.

   His teacher is very strict and does not allow talking in class.

1. 
   Speaker A:

   你看，我会做这个菜。

   Nǐ kàn, wǒ huì zuò zhège cài.

   Look, I can make this dish.

2. 
   Speaker B:

   你真厉害！以前谁教过你？

   Nǐ zhēn lìhai! Yǐqián shéi jiāo guo nǐ?

   You are really amazing! Who taught you before?

3. 
   Speaker A:

   我妈妈以前教过我。

   Wǒ māma yǐqián jiāo guo wǒ.

   My mom taught me before.

4. 
   Speaker B:

   下次也教教我吧。

   Xià cì yě jiāojiao wǒ ba.

   Teach me too next time.

• Free HSK 3 level testSee which HSK 3.0 level your vocabulary matches.
• HSK 4 word listEvery word at this level, with examples.
• HSK 3.0 guideHow the nine levels and three bands work.

Related words

• 害怕hài pàto be afraid; to be scaredHSK 3
• 不够bú gòunot enough; insufficient; inadequateHSK 4
• 严重yán zhònggrave; serious; severe; criticalHSK 4
• 乱luànin confusion or disorderHSK 4
• 仔细zǐ xìcareful; attentive; cautiousHSK 4
• 低dīlowHSK 4

Browse every entry in the Chinese word dictionary.