Meaning of 硬
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- hard; stiff; solid
- (fig.) strong; firm
- resolutely; uncompromisingly
- laboriously; with great difficulty
- good (quality); able (person)
- (of food) filling; substantial
How to use 硬
As an adjective, 硬 describes things that are physically hard or stiff, like 硬币 (yìngbì, coin) or 硬盘 (yìngpán, hard disk). As an adverb, it means doing something by force or against difficulty, often translated as "insist on" or "force oneself to." Example: 他硬要我喝酒。(Tā yìng yào wǒ hē jiǔ.) He insisted that I drink.
硬 (yìng) has 石 (shí, stone) on the left and 更 (gèng) on the right. Picture a stone that gets even more (更) solid, and you have something hard.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse the right side 更 with 便 (biàn) or 吏 (lì), so check that 更 has the extra horizontal stroke at the top and the long sweeping final stroke. Also, 硬 is fourth tone, not the second tone of 营 (yíng) or the third tone of 影 (yǐng).
硬 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.
硬 yìng · hard · 12 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 硬.
| 硬件 | yìngjiàn | hardware |
| 硬币 | yìngbì | coin |
| 强硬 | qiángyìng | tough; unyielding |
| 硬盘 | yìngpán | hard disk |
| 坚硬 | jiānyìng | hard; solid |
| 过硬 | guòyìng | to have perfect mastery of sth; to be up to the mark |
| 生硬 | shēngyìng | rigid; stiff; lacking naturalness or smoothness; awkward; forced |
| 硬朗 | yìnglang | robust; healthy |
| 僵硬 | jiāngyìng | stiff; rigid |
| 硬汉 | yìnghàn | man of steel; unyielding, tough guy |
| 嘴硬 | zuǐyìng | reluctant to admit a mistake |
| 变硬 | biànyìng | to stiffen |
Questions about 硬
What does 硬 mean?
硬 (yìng) means "hard; stiff; solid; (fig.) strong; firm" and is used as a adjective and adverb.
How do you write 硬?
硬 is made of 1 character: 硬 (12 strokes). That is 12 strokes in total.
Is 硬 an HSK word?
Yes. 硬 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 硬 and 坚硬?
硬 is the everyday word and works in casual speech, like 这个面包太硬了 (This bread is too hard). 坚硬 (jiānyìng) is more formal and written, often used for rocks, metal, or other very solid materials.
What is the opposite of 硬?
The opposite is 软 (ruǎn), meaning soft. They often appear as a pair, as in 硬件 (yìngjiàn, hardware) and 软件 (ruǎnjiàn, software), or 吃软不吃硬 (chī ruǎn bù chī yìng), describing someone who responds to gentle persuasion but not to force.