后劲 (hòu jìn) — staying power, endurance (after initial effort); delayed effect (of a medicine, policy, or action)

Definition

后劲 literally means 'after-strength' — stamina or effect that kicks in LATER. Use it when the real impact comes delayed: a drink's kick, medicine taking time to work, or someone finishing strong.

noun
staying powerendurance (after initial effort)delayed effect (of a medicine, policy, or action)
Easily confused

Examples

  • ，，。
    Zhè píng jiǔ hòu jìn hěn dà, hē de shí hou jué de hěn tián, dàn yí huì r jiù shàng tóu le.
    This bottle of wine has a strong aftertaste — it tastes sweet when you drink it, but it goes to your head after a while.
  • ，后劲，。
    Tā gāng kāi shǐ pǎo de màn, dàn hòu jìn hěn zú, zuì hòu fǎn ér chāo guò le duì shǒu.
    He ran slowly at first, but had great stamina and ended up surpassing his opponent.
  • 后劲，。
    Zhè zhǒng yào de hòu jìn bǐ jiào qiáng, kě néng yào dào míng tiān cái wán quán jiàn xiào.
    This medicine has a fairly strong delayed effect; it may not fully kick in until tomorrow.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

后hòulater
劲jìnstrength

后 points to later stages and 劲 to strength, together meaning energy that shows up later.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 後; 后 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 後 showed 夊 (foot) bound by 幺 (thread), a foot caught by a rope and lagging behind; the simplified 后 is a later abbreviation, and 后 also has a different meaning.

Open 后 →

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 勁; 劲 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
力力lìstrength
Sound part声符shēngfú
巠
巠jīng勁jìn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 勁 pairs 力, meaning strength, with 巠, which gives the sound; the simplified 劲 is a shorthand and its parts are not the original ones.

Open 劲 →

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