Meaning of 紧
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- tight
- strict
- close at hand
- near
- urgent
- tense
- hard up
- short of money
How to use 紧
紧 describes things that are tight or tense, like clothes, schedules, or money. It also appears in many common words such as 紧张 (jǐnzhāng, nervous) and 赶紧 (gǎnjǐn, hurry). Example: 这双鞋太紧了。(Zhè shuāng xié tài jǐn le.) These shoes are too tight.
The bottom of 紧 (jǐn) is 糸, a silk thread radical, and the top looks like a hand gripping something. Picture a hand pulling a thread until it is tight.
Common mistake: Learners often write the bottom as 小 or forget it is the silk radical 糸, so the character looks like a different word. Also keep the third tone in 紧张; some learners say jìnzhāng and it sounds like 进 (jìn).
紧 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.
紧 jǐn · tight · 10 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 紧.
| 紧张 | jǐnzhāng | nervous; keyed up |
| 赶紧 | gǎnjǐn | hurriedly; without delay |
| 紧急 | jǐnjí | urgent; emergency |
| 不要紧 | bùyàojǐn | unimportant; not serious |
| 抓紧 | zhuājǐn | to keep a firm grip on; to pay close attention to |
| 紧密 | jǐnmì | inseparably close |
| 紧紧 | jǐnjǐn | closely; tightly |
| 要紧 | yàojǐn | important; urgent |
| 无关紧要 | wúguān-jǐnyào | indifferent; insignificant |
| 紧迫 | jǐnpò | pressing; urgent |
| 紧接着 | jǐn jiēzhe | immediately afterwards; shortly after that |
| 加紧 | jiājǐn | to intensify; to speed up |
Questions about 紧
What does 紧 mean?
紧 (jǐn) means "tight; strict" and is used as a adjective.
How do you write 紧?
紧 is made of 1 character: 紧 (10 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.
Is 紧 an HSK word?
Yes. 紧 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 紧 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 紧 is written 緊.
What does 不要紧 mean and when do I use it?
不要紧 (bùyàojǐn) means it does not matter or it is not serious. You can say it when someone apologizes or when a problem is minor, similar to 没关系 (méi guānxi).
How do I say money is tight with 紧?
You can say 手头紧 (shǒutóu jǐn), meaning short of money at the moment. For example, 我最近手头有点紧。(Wǒ zuìjìn shǒutóu yǒudiǎn jǐn.) I am a bit short on money lately.