Meaning of 勇气
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- courage
How to use 勇气
勇气 is a noun, so it usually follows verbs like 有 (yǒu, to have), 需要 (xūyào, to need) or 鼓起 (gǔqǐ, to summon up). Example: 他鼓起勇气跟她说话。 (Tā gǔqǐ yǒngqì gēn tā shuōhuà.) He summoned up the courage to talk to her.
勇 (yǒng) means brave, and 气 (qì) means air or spirit, so 勇气 is the brave spirit you breathe in before doing something hard. Notice 勇 has 力 (lì, strength) at the bottom, holding up the brave feeling.
Common mistake: Learners often use 勇气 as an adjective and say 他很勇气. Use 勇敢 (yǒnggǎn) for brave: 他很勇敢, or keep the noun with a verb: 他很有勇气.
勇气 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
勇 yǒng · brave · 9 strokes
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气 qì · gas · 4 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 勇气.
| 生气 | shēngqì | to get angry; to be furious; vitality; liveliness |
| 天气 | tiānqì | weather |
| 不客气 | bù kèqì | you're welcome; don't mention it |
| 空气 | kōngqì | air; atmosphere |
| 气温 | qìwēn | air temperature |
| 气候 | qìhòu | (meteorology) climate; (fig.) climate; prevailing conditions (in human affairs) |
| 勇敢 | yǒnggǎn | brave; courageous |
| 运气 | yùnqi | luck (good or bad) |
| 力气 | lìqi | physical strength |
| 英勇 | yīngyǒng | heroic; gallant |
| 气球 | qìqiú | balloon |
| 暖气 | nuǎnqì | central heating; heater |
Questions about 勇气
What does 勇气 mean?
勇气 (yǒngqì) means "courage" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 勇气?
勇气 is made of 2 characters: 勇 (9 strokes), 气 (4 strokes). That is 13 strokes in total.
Is 勇气 an HSK word?
Yes. 勇气 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 勇气 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 勇气 is written 勇氣.
What is the difference between 勇气 and 勇敢?
勇气 is a noun meaning courage, the thing you have or lack. 勇敢 is an adjective meaning brave, used to describe a person or action, as in 勇敢的人 (a brave person).
How do you say 'I don't have the courage' in Chinese?
You can say 我没有勇气 (wǒ méiyǒu yǒngqì). To say you lack the courage to do something, add the action after it: 我没有勇气告诉他 (I don't have the courage to tell him).