Chinese word

硬

Pronunciation

Pinyinyìng

Meaning

  • adjectivehard

Example

这块肉太硬，咬不动。zhè kuài ròu tài yìng yǎo bú dòng

This piece of meat is too hard to chew.

Illustration for 硬 (hard)

More examples

这块牛排太硬了，刀切不开。zhè kuài niú pái tài yìng le dāo qiē bù kāi

This piece of steak is too hard for a knife to cut.

Core concept

Resists pressure instead of yielding, whether as a solid texture or an unbending stance.

Common phrases

  • 太硬了tài yìng le

    too hard

  • 硬得咬不动yìng de yǎo bú dòng

    too hard to chew

Similar words

结实jiē shí: Solidly made or physically robust, with the strength to withstand regular use.
坚固jiān gù: Built to remain firm and steady without easily breaking or collapsing.
坚硬jiān yìng: Made of material so hard that force causes little bending or indentation.
僵硬jiāng yìng: Held stiffly instead of moving smoothly, making the body or expression look unnatural.

Definition in Chinese

形容表面或内部结构坚固、不易变形，也可比喻态度或做法坚定、不灵活。xíng róng biǎo miàn huò nèi bù jié gòu jiān gù bú yì biàn xíng yě kě bǐ yù tài dù huò zuò fǎ jiān dìng bù líng huó

Word origin

硬 (yìng, "hard") is a phono-semantic character formed from 石 (shí, "stone"), suggesting firmness, and 更 (gèng, "more"), which supplies the sound.

Usage tips

  • For food, Chinese often uses 硬 (yìng, "hard") where natural English often chooses "tough," especially for meat.

Opposites

Related words

  • 硬度yìng dùhardnessnoun
  • 硬化yìng huàhardenverb

Word lists with this word