极端

jí duān

extremes; exceeding; pole

HSK Level 6

Example Sentences

气候变化导致了极端天气事件的增加。

qìhòu biànhuà dǎozhìle jíduān tiānqì shìjiàn de zēngjiā.

Climate change has led to an increase in extreme weather events.

他是一个极端分子。

tā shì yīgè jíduān fènzǐ.

He is an extremist.

这种药物的副作用非常极端。

zhè zhǒng yào wù de fù zuò yòng fēicháng jíduān.

The side effects of this drug are very extreme.

Synonyms

极度 (jí dù)

extreme

非常 (fēi cháng)

very

Antonyms

适中 (shìzhòng)

moderate

中间 (zhōngjiān)

middle

Etymology & Components

The Chinese word 极端 (jíduān) is composed of two characters: 极 (jí) and 端 (duān). The character 极 originally meant "the highest point" or "the utmost degree", and was often used in ancient Chinese texts to describe the extreme ends of a spectrum. The character 端 originally meant "the beginning" or "the source", and was often used to describe the starting point of something. When these two characters are combined, they form the word 极端, which literally means "the most extreme point" or "the utmost degree". In modern Chinese, 极端 is used to describe something that is very extreme or very intense, and can be used in both positive and negative contexts. For example, it can be used to describe something that is very good or very bad, or something that is very beautiful or very ugly.

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