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顽强 (wán qiáng) — tenacious, indomitable

Definition

顽强 describes tough, hard-to-defeat spirit or vitality that keeps going under pressure. Compared with 坚强, it emphasizes resilience in struggle rather than inner strength of character.

adjective
tenaciousindomitable

Examples

  • 顽强。
    Tā píng jiè wán qiáng de yì zhì wán chéng le rèn wu.
    He completed the task by virtue of his tenacious will.
  • 顽强，。
    Zhè zhǒng zhí wù shēng mìng lì wán qiáng, zài è liè huán jìng zhōng yě néng cún huó.
    This plant has tenacious vitality and can survive in harsh environments.
  • 顽强。
    wán qiáng De jīng shén shì chéng gōng de guān jiàn.
    A tenacious spirit is the key to success.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

顽wánstubborn
强qiángstrong

顽 means stubborn and 强 means strong, so together they mean stubbornly strong or tenacious.

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 頑; 顽 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yèhead
Sound part声符shēngfú
元
元yuán頑wán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 頑, 元 gave the sound and 頁 showed 'head'; the sense was 'a stubborn head'.

Open 顽 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6Personality & Traits

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