TongTong
Sign in

对劲儿 (duì jìn r) — suitable; agreeable; normal

Definition

Colloquial 北方话 expression used mostly in negative patterns like 不对劲儿 ('something feels off') or 说得对劲儿. It means 'right, fitting, normal' — describing how a situation, a person, or a machine feels rather than logical correctness.

adjective
suitableagreeablenormal

Examples

  • 对劲儿，。
    Zuì jìn tā xīn qíng bú tài duì jìn r, zǒng shì fā dāi.
    Recently he hasn't been feeling quite right — he's always in a daze.
  • ，。
    Zhè kuài biǎo zǒu dé bú duì jìn r, xū yào xiū yí xià.
    This watch isn't running properly; it needs repair.
  • 对劲儿，。
    Nǐ zhè me shuō jiù duì jìn r le, tā qí shí shì gè hǎo rén.
    It's not right for you to say that — he's actually a good person.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

对劲suitable; normal
对duìfit; match劲jìnforce
动宾Verb + object
儿érerhua

对劲儿 describes something suitable or normal, as if its 劲 fits; 儿 gives the colloquial spoken form.

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 對; 对 is its simplified writing.

For the traditional form 對, the shape comes from an early drawing of 丵 (a digging tool), 土 (earth), and 又 (a hand); it may have meant developing land.

Open 对 →

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 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape 儿 is a simple drawing of a standing person, used as an alternate form of the character for person.

Open 儿 →
Appears in
Good & Bad

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