jiǎnqīng: 减轻 - To Lighten, Alleviate, Reduce, Mitigate
Quick Summary
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Summary: Learn the essential Chinese verb 减轻 (jiǎnqīng), which means to lighten, alleviate, or reduce the severity of something. This comprehensive guide covers its core meaning, character breakdown, and cultural significance. Discover how to use 减轻 (jiǎnqīng) to talk about reducing stress, easing pain, or lightening a financial burden with practical, real-world example sentences perfect for beginner and intermediate learners.
Core Meaning
Pinyin (with tone marks): jiǎnqīng
Part of Speech: Verb
HSK Level: HSK 4
Concise Definition: To lighten, alleviate, or reduce the severity, weight, or intensity of something.
In a Nutshell: Imagine carrying a heavy backpack. 减轻 (jiǎnqīng) is the action of taking some heavy books out to make it easier to carry. It's used for making any kind of “weight” lighter—physical pain, emotional stress, a financial burden, or a heavy workload. It's all about decreasing the intensity or pressure of something negative to make it more manageable.
Character Breakdown
减 (jiǎn): This character means “to reduce” or “to subtract.” The left side is the “water” radical (氵), and the right side (咸) provides the sound. You can think of it as the water level in a container being reduced.
轻 (qīng): This character means “light” (in weight) or “gentle.” It depicts a cart (车) that is easy to pull, implying its load is not heavy.
Together, 减轻 (jiǎnqīng) literally means “reduce light,” which logically combines to mean “to make something lighter” or “to reduce the weight/severity of something.”
Cultural Context and Significance
减轻 (jiǎnqīng) is a frequently used term in contexts of health, family, and societal well-being. In Chinese culture, there's a strong emphasis on harmony and balance, and this verb reflects the desire to restore that balance by lessening negative influences.
For example, in the context of filial piety (孝顺, xiàoshùn), a core Confucian value, adult children are often expected to work hard to 减轻 (jiǎnqīng) their parents' financial and physical burdens (减轻父母的负担, jiǎnqīng fùmǔ de fùdān) in their old age. This isn't just a nice gesture; it's a deeply ingrained social expectation.
Comparison to Western Concepts: While we have words like “alleviate,” “mitigate,” and “ease” in English, 减轻 (jiǎnqīng) is more of an all-purpose, everyday term. “Mitigate” sounds formal and legal in English, but 减轻 (jiǎnqīng) can be used just as easily to talk about a headache as it can to talk about mitigating a punishment. It's less about the formality and more about the core action of making a negative thing less intense.
Practical Usage in Modern China
减轻 (jiǎnqīng) is an extremely practical verb used in a wide range of situations, from casual conversation to formal reports.
Health and Wellness: This is one of the most common contexts. People talk about ways to 减轻 pain, symptoms, or mental stress.
e.g., “这种药可以减轻头痛。” (This medicine can alleviate headaches.)
Work and Academics: Used to describe reducing workload, pressure, or responsibility.
e.g., “老板同意了减轻我的工作量。” (The boss agreed to lighten my workload.)
Economic and Social Issues: Frequently appears in news and discussions about government policy.
e.g., “政府出台新政策以减轻中小企业的税收负担。” (The government introduced new policies to lighten the tax burden on small and medium-sized enterprises.)
Legal Context: In formal situations, it can mean to mitigate or reduce the severity of a punishment.
e.g., “因为他有自首情节，法院决定减轻对他的处罚。” (Because he turned himself in, the court decided to mitigate his punishment.)
Example Sentences
Example 1:
吃了药以后，我的头痛减轻了很多。
Pinyin: Chī le yào yǐhòu, wǒ de tóutòng jiǎnqīng le hěn duō.
English: After taking the medicine, my headache was alleviated a lot.
Analysis: A very common use related to physical pain. The verb 减轻 describes the reduction in the *intensity* of the pain.
Example 2:
为了减轻父母的经济负担，他大学时就开始打工了。
Pinyin: Wèile jiǎnqīng fùmǔ de jīngjì fùdān, tā dàxué shí jiù kāishǐ dǎgōng le.
English: In order to lighten his parents' financial burden, he started working part-time during college.
Analysis: This sentence touches upon the cultural value of filial piety. The object of 减轻 is the abstract concept of “financial burden” (经济负担).
Example 3:
运动是减轻学习压力的好方法。
Pinyin: Yùndòng shì jiǎnqīng xuéxí yālì de hǎo fāngfǎ.
English: Exercise is a good way to reduce the stress of studying.
Analysis: Here, 减轻 is used to talk about emotional or mental “weight,” specifically “stress” (压力).
Example 4:
新修的地铁线希望能减轻地面交通的拥堵。
Pinyin: Xīn xiū de dìtiěxiàn xīwàng néng jiǎnqīng dìmiàn jiāotōng de yōngdǔ.
English: The newly built subway line will hopefully ease the congestion of ground traffic.
Analysis: This shows 减轻 can be applied to large-scale problems like traffic. It's reducing the *severity* of the congestion.
English: The government is taking measures to mitigate environmental pollution.
Analysis: Used for large-scale, abstract problems. It doesn't mean to eliminate pollution entirely, but to reduce its severity.
Example 10:
分担家务可以减轻我妻子的负担。
Pinyin: Fēndān jiāwù kěyǐ jiǎnqīng wǒ qīzi de fùdān.
English: Sharing the housework can lighten my wife's burden.
Analysis: A practical, everyday example of lightening a “burden” (负担) through action.
Nuances and Common Mistakes
The most common point of confusion for learners is the difference between 减轻 (jiǎnqīng) and 减少 (jiǎnshǎo). They both translate to “reduce,” but they are not interchangeable.
减轻 (jiǎnqīng): Reduces intensity, severity, weight, or degree. It's about making something less heavy or less severe.
Correct: 减轻压力 (jiǎnqīng yālì) - to reduce the *intensity* of stress.
Correct: 减轻痛苦 (jiǎnqīng tòngkǔ) - to alleviate the *degree* of suffering.
减少 (jiǎnshǎo): Reduces quantity, amount, or number. It's about making something fewer or less in amount.
Correct: 减少错误 (jiǎnshǎo cuòwù) - to reduce the *number* of mistakes.
Correct: 减少时间 (jiǎnshǎo shíjiān) - to reduce the *amount* of time.
Common Mistake:
Incorrect: 我想减轻我的工作。(Wǒ xiǎng jiǎnqīng wǒ de gōngzuò.) - This is grammatically awkward. You don't “lighten your work”; you “lighten your workload.”
Correct: 我想减轻我的工作量。(Wǒ xiǎng jiǎnqīng wǒ de gōngzuòliàng.) - I want to lighten my workload.
Correct: 我想减少我的工作。(Wǒ xiǎng jiǎnshǎo wǒ de gōngzuò.) - I want to reduce my work (i.e., have fewer tasks).
Related Terms and Concepts
减少 (jiǎnshǎo) - To reduce in number or quantity. The key term to distinguish from 减轻.
缓解 (huǎnjiě) - A close synonym meaning to relieve or ease, often used for crises, tension, or symptoms. It can feel slightly more formal than 减轻.
降低 (jiàngdī) - To lower or reduce, typically used for things that can be measured on a scale, like prices, temperatures, standards, or levels.
加重 (jiāzhòng) - The direct antonym of 减轻. It means to make heavier, to aggravate, or to exacerbate.
负担 (fùdān) - Noun: A burden, load, or responsibility. This is a very common object for the verb 减轻.
压力 (yālì) - Noun: Pressure or stress. Another common object for 减轻.
痛苦 (tòngkǔ) - Noun: Pain, suffering, or agony. This is what 减轻 often acts upon.
放松 (fàngsōng) - To relax or loosen. While 减轻 is often an external action to reduce a burden, 放松 is the internal state of letting go of that pressure.