Chinese word

勉强

Pronunciation

Pinyinmiǎn qiǎng

Meaning

  • adverbreluctantly

Example

他勉强点头了。tā mián qiǎng diǎn tóu le

He reluctantly nodded.

Illustration for 勉强 (reluctantly)

More examples

他在客人面前勉强挤出笑容。tā zài kè rén miàn qián mián qiǎng jǐ chū xiào róng

He reluctantly forced a smile in front of the guests.

Core concept

Something just manages to happen when ability, conditions, or willingness are not quite enough.

Common phrases

  • 勉强承受mián qiǎng chéng shòu

    reluctantly endure

  • 勉强挤出笑容mián qiǎng jǐ chū xiào róng

    reluctantly force a smile

  • 勉强凑合mián qiǎng còu hé

    reluctantly make do

Similar words

好不容易hǎo bù róng yì: Managing to complete something at last after facing many difficulties or spending a long time.
不情愿bù qíng yuàn: Taking an action with an unwilling attitude rather than genuine interest.
只好zhí hǎo: Taking an action simply because no other choice is available.
不得已bù dé yǐ: Being forced to act by circumstances that leave no way to avoid it.

Definition in Chinese

表示在困难或条件不足时勉强达到某种程度或完成某事；多用于副词，表示程度低或为难地去做。biǎo shì zài kùn nán huò tiáo jiàn bù zú shí mián qiǎng dá dào móu zhǒng chéng dù huò wán chéng mǒu shì duō yòng yú fù cí biǎo shì chéng dù dī huò wéi nán dì qù zuò

Word origin

勉 (miǎn, "make an effort") + 强 (qiǎng, "force") combines effort with pressure, giving the compound its sense of doing or achieving something when it does not come easily.

Usage tips

  • In everyday conversation, this word can soften criticism by acknowledging that a task was completed while signaling that the quality or margin was low.

Other meanings

  • barelyadverb
  • with effortadverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word