TongTong
Sign in

花岗岩 (huā gāng yán) — granite (a hard igneous rock used in construction); (figurative) stubborn as a rock, unyielding

Definition

A literal igneous rock used in buildings and sculpture, and a common metaphor for extreme stubbornness ('stubborn as granite'). The figurative sense is far more frequent in everyday Chinese than the geological one.

noun
granite (a hard igneous rock used in construction)(figurative) stubborn as a rockunyielding
Measure word · 块

Examples

  • 花岗岩，。
    Zhè zhǒng huā gāng yán fēi cháng jiān yìng, cháng yòng yú jiàn zhù cái liào.
    This kind of granite is very hard and is often used as a building material.
  • 花岗岩，。
    Tā de sī xiǎng jiù xiàng huā gāng yán yí yàng, shuí yě gǎi biàn bù liǎo.
    His mindset is as stubborn as granite; no one can change it.
  • 花岗岩。
    Zhè zuò diāo sù shì yòng huā gāng yán diāo kè ér chéng de.
    This sculpture is carved from granite.

Origin

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant
Sound part声符shēngfú
化
化huà花
Same sound today

花 pairs 艹 (grass; plant) with 化, which gives the sound.

Open 花 →

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 崗; 岗 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
山山shānmountain
Sound part声符shēngfú
岡
岡gāng崗gǎng
Same sound today

The traditional form 崗 uses 山 to show a hill or mountain and 岡 to carry the sound; the simplified 岗 is a later shorthand.

Open 岗 →

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 巖; 岩 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
山山shānmountain
Sound part声符shēngfú
嚴
嚴yán巖yán
Same sound today

The traditional form 巖 combines 山 (mountain) with 嚴, a part that gives the sound; the simplified 岩 is a later shorthand, and its parts are not the original parts.

Open 岩 →
Appears in
Materials & Substances

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