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生硬 (shēng yìng) — stiff, unnatural (of writing, translation, style, gestures); harsh, blunt (of attitude, tone, manner)

Definition

生硬 means 'stiff, unnatural' for writing/translation/performance, and 'harsh, blunt' for manner or tone — focuses on awkwardness rather than the physical hardness of 僵硬 or the demanding severity of 苛刻.

adjective
stiffunnatural (of writing, translation, style, gestures)harshblunt (of attitude, tone, manner)

Examples

  • 生硬。
    Zhè piān fān yì dú qǐ lái hěn shēng yìng.
    This translation reads very stiff.
  • 生硬。
    Tā shēng yìng de tài dù ràng tóng shì men gǎn dào bù shū fu.
    His harsh attitude made colleagues feel uncomfortable.
  • 生硬，。
    Tā de biǎo yǎn yǒu xiē shēng yìng, bú gòu zì rán.
    Her performance was somewhat stiff, not natural enough.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

生shēngraw
硬yìnghard

“生” (raw) and “硬” (hard) together describe something stiff, unnatural, or harsh.

Characters in this word

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

生 shows 屮 (a bud) above 一 (the ground), drawing a sprout coming up from the earth.

Open 生 →

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
石石shí
Sound part声符shēngfú
更
更gèng硬yìng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

硬 is built from 石, meaning stone, to show hardness or stiffness, and 更, which gives the sound.

Open 硬 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Good & Bad

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