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紧张 (jǐn zhāng) — (of a person or atmosphere) nervous, anxious, tense; (of supplies, time, etc.) tight, scarce, strained

Definition

紧张 covers both 'nervous/tense' (people, atmosphere) and 'tight/scarce' (time, supplies). For the anxious sense, it's broader and milder than 焦虑 or 焦急; for the scarce sense, it overlaps with 紧缺.

adjective
(of a person or atmosphere) nervousanxioustense(of supplies, time, etc.) tightscarcestrained
Measure word · 阵

Examples

  • ，紧张。
    Míng tiān jiù yào miàn shì le, wǒ xiàn zài hěn jǐn zhāng.
    The interview is tomorrow, so I'm very nervous right now.
  • ，紧张。
    Bǐ sài dào zuì hòu jiē duàn, qì fen biàn de fēi cháng jǐn zhāng.
    The match entered the final stage, and the atmosphere became very tense.
  • 紧张，。
    Wǒ men shí jiān hěn jǐn zhāng, bì xū liǎng diǎn qián wán chéng.
    Our time is tight; we must finish before two o'clock.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

紧jǐntight
张zhāngtaut

紧 ('tight') and 张 ('taut') together give the sense of being tense or strained.

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 緊; 紧 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mì
Sound part声符shēngfú
臤
臤qiān緊jǐn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 緊 pairs 糸 (thread) with 臤 as a sound part; the simplified 紧 is a later shorthand.

Open 紧 →

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 張; 张 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
弓弓gōngbow
Sound part声符shēngfú
長
長cháng張zhāng
Same sound today

The traditional form 張 combines 弓, a bow, with 長, which points to the sound; the simplified 张 is a shorthand and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 张 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4HSK 2.0 Level 41000 Most Frequent Chinese WordsEmotions & FeelingsMental Health2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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