Chinese word

绷

Pronunciation

Pinyinbēng

Meaning

  • verbtense

Example

他把肌肉绷得很紧。tā bǎ jī ròu bēng de hěn jǐn

He tensed his muscles until they were very tight.

Illustration for 绷 (tense)

More examples

噪音响起时，他的神经立刻绷紧了。zào yīn xiáng qǐ shí tā de shén jīng lì kè bēng jǐn le

When the noise started, his nerves immediately tensed up.

Core concept

Pressure draws a surface or body part taut, leaving it rigid instead of relaxed.

Common phrases

  • 绷紧肌肉bēng jǐn jī ròu

    tense muscles

  • 绷紧神经bēng jǐn shén jīng

    tense nerves

Similar words

拉紧lā jǐn: Draw something tight by pulling it strongly and removing its slack.
收紧shōu jǐn: Make a loose part a little tighter.
忍住rěn zhù: Control a feeling or restrain an action instead of letting it happen.

Definition in Chinese

因拉紧或用力而使某物表面或人体部分变得绷紧；也用来形容抑制情绪导致的面部或身体僵硬。yīn lā jǐn huò yòng lì ér shǐ mǒu wù biǎo miàn huò rén tǐ bù fèn biàn de bēng jǐn yě yòng lái xíng róng yì zhì qíng xù dǎo zhì de miàn bù huò shēn tǐ jiāng yìng

Word origin

In 绷 (bēng, "to tense"), 纟 (sī, "silk thread") recalls stretched fabric and 崩 (bēng, "collapse") is the sound-bearing part, linking the spelling to the extension from material to body.

Usage tips

  • Unlike "be nervous," this word can describe outward stiffness without claiming that a person feels afraid, so a tight jaw or frozen expression can be described separately from emotion.

Other meanings

  • stiffenverb
  • be nervousverb

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word