弱 (ruò) — weak, feeble (physically); inferior, not as good as (in ability or quality); (used after a number) slightly less than
Definition
弱 covers both 'physically weak' and 'inferior/not as good as' in one adjective; the number sense (∼) means 'slightly less than'. 软弱 and 微弱 lean toward physical weakness, while 不如/不及/逊色 are verbs for comparison.
adjective
weakfeeble (physically)inferiornot as good as (in ability or quality)(used after a number) slightly less than
Easily confused
Examples
- ，弱。Tā qù nián shēng le yì chǎng dà bìng, xiàn zài shēn tǐ hái hěn ruò.He had a serious illness last year, and his body is still very weak now.
- 弱。Tā de shù xué chéng jì bǐ bān shàng hěn duō tóng xué ruò.His math grades are inferior to many classmates in the class.
- 弱。Zhè ge bān dà yuē yǒu sān shí rén ruò.This class has slightly fewer than thirty people.
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