Chinese word

要强

Pronunciation

Pinyinyào qiáng

Meaning

  • adjectivecompetitive

Example

他很要强，不愿意认输。tā hěn yào qiáng bú yuàn yì rèn shū

He is very competitive and doesn't want to admit defeat.

Illustration for 要强 (competitive)

More examples

她在工作中表现出要强的性格。tā zài gōng zuò zhōng biǎo xiàn chū yào qiáng de xìng gé

She showed a competitive personality at work.

Core concept

A strong drive to come out on top and avoid appearing weak or defeated.

Common phrases

  • 要强的人yào qiáng de rén

    competitive person

  • 要强的性格yào qiáng de xìng gé

    competitive personality

  • 要强的心态yào qiáng de xīn tài

    competitive mindset

Similar words

好胜hào shèng: Enjoying competition and having a strong desire to win.
好强hǎo qiáng: Wanting to seem strong and unwilling to reveal weakness.
自负zì fù: Being too confident in one's own ability or value.
骄傲jiāo ào: Acting superior because of a belief in being better than others.

Definition in Chinese

在比较或竞争场合希望占上风，不愿被人看作软弱或失败者。zài bǐ jiào huò jìng zhēng chǎng hé xī wàng zhàn shàng fēng bú yuàn bèi rén kàn zuò ruǎn ruò huò shī bài zhě

Word origin

要强 (yàoqiáng, "want to be strong") combines 要 (yào, "want") with 强 (qiáng, "strong"), portraying someone who insists on showing strength.

Usage tips

  • The word commonly describes a person's character rather than one particular match, test, or game, which makes it useful for discussing reactions to setbacks.

Other meanings

  • unwilling to loseadjective

Opposites

Word lists with this word