HSK 6 · Adjectives

举足轻重 jǔzúqīngzhòng “to play a decisive role” in Chinese

Traditional 舉足輕重

What 举足轻重 means

  1. to play a decisive role
  2. very influential
  3. to play a critical role (idiom)
  4. influential

How to say 举足轻重

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale举jǔ3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale足zú2nd tone, rising
  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale轻qīng1st tone, high and level
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale重zhòng4th tone, falling

举足轻重 in a sentence

  1. 他在公司里有举足轻重的地位。

    Tā zài gōngsī lǐ yǒu jǔzúqīngzhòng de dìwèi.

    He plays a very important role in the company.

    Sentence by WillyChina

  2. 这场比赛对我们来说举足轻重。

    Zhè chǎng bǐsài duì wǒmen lái shuō jǔzúqīngzhòng.

    This match is crucial for us.

    Sentence by WillyChina

How 举足轻重 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 举 (jǔ) with each of its parts in a different colour
举jǔto lift
  • 兴to thrive · xīng
  • 扌hand form of 手 · shǒuMeaning part

扌 hints at the meaning (hand); 舉 () hints at the sound. Compare it with jǔ.

The character 足 (jù) drawn as one shape
足zúfoot; leg

足 is a single shape of 7 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.

Memory aidDrawn from a leg with a foot below: foot. You see it on the left of 跑 (pǎo) “run”, 跳 (tiào) “jump” and 踢 (tī) “kick”.

The character 轻 (qīng) with each of its parts in a different colour
轻qīnglight
  • 车cart · chēMeaning part
  • 又again · yòu
  • 工work · gōngSound part

车 hints at the meaning (cart); 工 (gōng) hints at the sound. Compare it with qīng.

The character 重 (zhòng) with each of its parts in a different colour
重zhòngheavy
  • 千thousand · qiān
  • 里village · lǐ

How to write 举足轻重

举 9 strokes · 足 7 strokes · 轻 9 strokes · 重 9 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

举足轻重 (jǔzúqīngzhòng) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 举足轻重 (jǔzúqīngzhòng). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 举足轻重

Words with 举

举jǔ · to lift举办jǔbàn · to conduct举行jǔxíng · to hold (a meeting列举lièjǔ · to list选举xuǎnjǔ · to elect举动jǔdòng · act举世瞩目jǔshìzhǔmù · to attract worldwide attention一举两得yìjǔliǎngdé · to kill two birds with one stone

Words with 足

足球zúqiú · football踢足球tīzúqiú · to play football (football)满足mǎnzú · to satisfy不足bùzú · insufficient立足lìzú · to gain a foothold充足chōngzú · sufficient十足shízú · complete足以zúyǐ · enough to微不足道wēibùzúdào · insignificant知足常乐zhīzúchánglè · contentment brings happiness

Words with 轻

年轻niánqīng · young轻qīng · light轻松qīngsōng · relaxed轻视qīngshì · to look down on轻易qīngyì · easily

Words with 重

重要zhòngyào · important重zhòng · heavy重视zhòngshì · to take seriously尊重zūnzhòng · to esteem严重yánzhòng · grave重点zhòngdiǎn · key point重新chóngxīn · again重复chóngfù · to repeat重大zhòngdà · major重量zhòngliàng · weight

More words: Adjectives

吉祥jíxiáng · lucky机智jīzhì · quick-witted倔强juéjiàng · stubborn剧烈jùliè · violent开阔kāikuò · wide开朗kāilǎng · cheerful开明kāimíng · enlightened慷慨kāngkǎi · generous

FAQs

举足轻重 (jǔzúqīngzhòng) means “to play a decisive role” or “very influential”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it jǔzúqīngzhòng: jǔ with a 3rd tone, then zú with a 2nd tone, then qīng with a 1st tone, then zhòng with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 举足轻重 is written 舉足輕重. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type juzuqingzhong with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 举足轻重 from the suggestions. Typing juzuqingzhong into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
举足轻重 is an HSK 6 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences written by WillyChina. Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.