硬邦邦 (yìng bāng bāng) — rock-hard, stiff (describes something that feels very hard and unyielding)

Definition

Reduplicated adjective meaning 'rock-hard, stiff' — the de- form (硬邦邦的) is far more common than the bare adjective, used for bread, frozen fingers, mattresses, etc. A vivid, colloquial alternative to plain 硬.

adjective
rock-hardstiff (describes something that feels very hard and unyielding)

Examples

  • 硬邦邦
    Zhè kuài miàn bāo fàng le yí yè, biàn de yìng bāng bāng de.
    This piece of bread sat out all night and turned rock-hard.
  • 硬邦邦
    Tā dòng dé shǒu zhǐ dōu yìng bāng bāng de, jī hū wò bú zhù bǐ.
    His fingers were so frozen they were stiff, and he could barely hold the pen.
  • 硬邦邦
    Xīn mǎi de chuáng diàn tài yìng bāng bāng le, shuì le yì wǎn yāo suān bèi tòng.
    The new mattress is too hard — after one night my back and waist ache.

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