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镇静 (zhèn jìng) — (adjective) calm, composed, cool-headed; (verb) to calm down, to settle (one's nerves)

Definition

More formal than 冷静: 镇静 emphasizes composed self-control under pressure, often paired with 保持 in formal contexts.

adjective
calmcomposedcool-headed
verb
to calm downto settle (one's nerves)

Examples

  • ，镇静。
    Miàn shì qián tā shēn xī yì kǒu qì, ràng zì jǐ zhèn jìng xià lái.
    Before the interview he took a deep breath to calm himself down.
  • 镇静。
    Zài tán pàn zhōng bǎo chí zhèn jìng hěn zhòng yào.
    It's important to stay calm during negotiations.
  • 镇静，。
    Tā yù dào tū fā qíng kuàng shí fēi cháng zhèn jìng, yì diǎn dōu bù huāng.
    She was very calm when faced with an emergency, not panicking at all.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

镇zhèncalm
静jìngstill

镇 and 静 both suggest calm and stillness, so it means cool and settled.

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 鎮; 镇 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
金金jīnmetal
Sound part声符shēngfú
真
真zhēn鎮zhèn
Same sound today

The traditional form 鎮 uses 金, metal, and 真, which gave its sound; it depicted pressing down with a metal weight. The simplified 镇 is a later abbreviation.

Open 镇 →

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 靜; 静 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 靜, not the simplified 静, uses 青 and 爭 for sound; an old source also treats 青 (blue) as a meaning part.

Open 静 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Emotions & FeelingsMental Health

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