健壮 (jiàn zhuàng) — strong and healthy, robust, sturdy | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

健壮 describes a strong, well-built body (or by extension, a sturdy plant or animal), emphasizing physical vigor. Stronger and more physical than 健康 ('healthy' as a general state), and more concrete than 强壮.

adjective

strong and healthyrobuststurdy

Examples

，健壮。
Tā jīng guò jǐ gè yuè de xùn liàn, shēn tǐ biàn de fēi cháng jiàn zhuàng.
After months of training, his body became very strong and healthy.
健壮，。
Zhè kē lǎo shù yī rán jiàn zhuàng, měi nián dōu jié hěn duō guǒ zi.
This old tree is still robust and bears a lot of fruit every year.
，健壮。
Suī rán tā yǐ jīng qī shí suì le, dàn shēn tǐ réng rán hěn jiàn zhuàng.
Although he is already seventy years old, his body is still very sturdy.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

健jiànhealthy

壮zhuàngstrong

健 “healthy” and 壮 “strong” combine to mean robust and sturdy.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

亻建健

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rénperson

Sound part声符shēngfú

建

建jiàn健jiàn

Same sound today

The left part 亻 depicts a person, and the right part 建 gives the sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 壯; 壮 is its simplified writing.

爿士壯

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

爿

爿pán壯zhuàng

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 壯 uses 士 to hint at the meaning and 爿 for the sound; the simplified 壮 is a later abbreviation.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Fitness & Exercise

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.