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硬: hard; obstinate

By February 6, 2015February 14th, 2015Chinese Word, Japanese Word, Language-Learning

 

硬 yìng

adjective | adverb
: hard; stiff; firm; strong; obstinate; resolutely; doggedly; good (quality); able (person)

Kun Reading

硬い | かたい katai

adjective
: hard; solid; tough
: stiff; tight; wooden; unpolished (e.g. writing)
: strong; firm (not viscous or easily moved)
: safe; steady; honest; steadfast
: obstinate; stubborn
: bookish; formal; stuffy

硬さ | かたさ katasa

noun
: firmness; hardness; stiffness; honesty

硬 | こたえる kotaeru

ichidan verb | intransitive verb
: to respond; to live up to; to reward
: to take its toll; to strike home; to have an effect on; to be hard on someone (e.g. heat, cold, work, illness, etc.); to be a strain

On Reading

硬 | こう kou

noun
: hardness

 Usage:

硬件 ying4jian4: hardware
硬幣[币] ying4bi4: coin
硬體[体] ying4ti3: (computer) hardware
硬來[来] ying4lai2: to use force
硬要 ying4yao4: firmly set on doing something; to insist on doing; determined in one’s course of action
硬化 ying4hua4: to harden; hardening; sclerosis; fig. to become rigid or inflexible in opinions; to ossify
[こうか kouka: hardening; vulcanization; sclerosis; curing]
堅[坚]硬 jian1ying4: hard; solid
僵硬 jiang1ying4: stiff; rigid
生硬 sheng1ying4: stiff; harsh
[せいこう seikou: crude; immature; unpolished]
強[强]硬 qiang2ying4: tough; unyielding; hard-line
[強硬 | きょうこう kyoukou: firm; vigorous; unbending; unyielding; strong; stubborn]
軟[软]硬 ruan3ying4: software & hardware



Japanese expression | proverb
硬いことは言いっこなし | かたいことはいいっこなし katai koto wa iikkonashi
: let’s put formalities aside; let’s not speak so stiffly



Chinese expression | idiom
翅膀硬了 chi4 bang3 ying4 le5
: (of a bird) to have become fully fledged; (fig.) (of a person) to have grown up (and become independent); to be ready to spread one’s wings

吃軟不吃硬 [吃软不吃硬] chi1 ruan3 bu4 chi1 ying4
: lit. eats soft food, but refuses hard food; amenable to coaxing but not coercion

吃軟飯 [吃软饭] chi1 ruan3 fan4: to live off a woman

 Etymology:


形声 Pictophonetic.
石 (shi1: stone radical 112) suggests the meaning while
更 (geng4 | geng1: more) provides the sound.



Specialized Semantic.
應[应] ying1 | ying4: should; ought to; must | to respond
[kun: いらえ irae; こたえ kotae; こたえる kotaeru; おうじる oujiru, おうずる ouzuru.
on: ou おう ou]



Historical variant
峺 geng3



 Examples:
两隊打了場硬仗。
liang3 dui4 da2le chang2 ying4zhang4.
The two teams fought very hard.

Resources: Chinese Dictionary | Japanese Dictionary