内功 (nèi gōng) — internal martial-arts training (breath, energy, and organ conditioning); inner strength or foundational skill (metaphorical)

Definition

Literally 'internal skill': in wuxia it means breath-and-energy training inside the body, and metaphorically the deep, unseen foundation behind a result. Pairs with 外功 (external/surface technique).

noun
internal martial-arts training (breath, energy, and organ conditioning)inner strength or foundational skill (metaphorical)

Examples

  • 内功。
    Liàn nèi gōng xū yào nài xīn hé cháng qī de jiān chí.
    Practicing internal martial arts requires patience and long-term persistence.
  • 内功，。
    Tā de nèi gōng hěn shēn, suǒ yǐ shēn tǐ yì zhí hěn hǎo.
    His internal training is deep, so his health has always been good.
  • 内功，。
    Zuò xué wèn yě yào liàn hǎo nèi gōng, bù néng zhī zhuī qiú biǎo miàn gōng fu.
    Doing scholarship also requires building solid inner skills, not just chasing superficial results.

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.

内nèiinside
功gōngskill

内 means inside and 功 trained skill, pointing to internal power or skill.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 入入rùto enter
  • 冂冂jiōnghouse

The shape shows 入 entering into 冂, a house, so it pictures bringing something indoors, giving the sense inside.

Open 内 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
力力lìstrength
Sound part声符shēngfú
工
工gōng功gōng
Same sound today

功 puts 力 (strength) beside 工, which gives the sound gōng and means labour or work.

Open 功 →

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