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强项 (qiáng xiàng) — strong suit, strength, specialty

Definition

强项 is a personal 'strong suit' — a skill or ability someone does especially well. Closer to 专长 and 特长 (specific expertise); 长处 is a more general 'strength', and 特产 means a regional product.

noun
strong suitstrengthspecialty

Examples

  • 强项，。
    Biān chéng shì tā de qiáng xiàng, tā xiě dài mǎ yòu kuài yòu hǎo.
    Programming is his strong suit; he writes code fast and well.
  • ，强项。
    Zài zhè cì bǐ sài zhōng, wǒ men yào fā huī měi gè rén de qiáng xiàng.
    In this competition, we need to bring out everyone's strong suit.
  • 强项，。
    Xué xí wài yǔ bú shì wǒ de qiáng xiàng, dàn wǒ yì zhí zài nǔ lì.
    Learning a foreign language is not my strong suit, but I keep working hard.

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.

强qiángstrong
项xiàngitem

强 means strong, and 项 refers to an item or category, giving the idea of a strong point.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 強; 强 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 強 pairs an insect component with a sound component; this explains 強, not the simplified 强.

Open 强 →

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 項; 项 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yèhead
Sound part声符shēngfú
工
工gōng項xiàng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 項 combines 工 as a sound part with 頁, meaning head; the simplified 项 is a later shorthand.

Open 项 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Abstract Concepts

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