闯劲 (chuǎng jìn) — pioneering spirit; drive to break new ground

Definition

闯劲 (chuǎng jìn) is the drive to push into uncharted territory — a bold, action-oriented 'pioneering spirit'. Use it for people or teams who dare to try new things and take risks.

noun
pioneering spiritdrive to break new ground
Easily confused

Examples

  • 闯劲，。
    Tā zhè ge rén hěn yǒu chuǎng jìn, gǎn yú cháng shì xīn shì wù.
    He is a person with great pioneering spirit, daring to try new things.
  • 闯劲，。
    Tuán duì xū yào gèng duō de chuǎng jìn, cái néng zài guó jì shì chǎng shàng jìng zhēng.
    The team needs more pioneering spirit to compete in the international market.
  • 闯劲。
    Zhè jiā gōng sī de chéng gōng kào de jiù shì nà gǔ chuǎng jìn.
    The success of this company relies precisely on that pioneering drive.

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.

闯chuǎngbreak through
劲jìnenergy

闯 (break through) adds the idea of pioneering to 劲 (drive or energy).

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 闖; 闯 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 闖 shows a horse rushing through a gate, which fits the modern sense of dashing; the simplified 闯 is a later shorthand.

Open 闯 →

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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