菁 (jīng) — (in compounds) lush, luxuriant; (in compounds) essence, cream
Definition
菁 (jīng) is a bound morpheme meaning 'lush' or 'essence,' appearing only in compounds like 精英 ('elite') and 菁华 ('the essence/best part'). It carries a literary tone and is not used alone.
bound form
(in compounds) lushluxuriant(in compounds) essencecream
Easily confused
- 箐qìnglook-alike(noun) a kind of bamboo
- 经jīngsound-aliketo pass through; to go through (a place, time, or experience)
- 青qīnglook-alikegreen (color)
- 惊jīngsound-aliketo startle, to alarm (someone)
- 精jīngsound-alikeskilled; proficient; refined (of ability)
- 京jīngsound-alikecapital (of a country) — used in names of capital cities
Examples
- 菁。Zhè wèi jiào shòu shì jiào yù jiè de jīng yīng.This professor is the elite of the education field.
- 菁。Zhè bù zuò pǐn de jīng huá zài yú qí shēn kè de sī xiǎng.The essence of this work lies in its profound thoughts.
- 菁。Wǒ men yīng dāng xué xí gǔ dài wén huà de jīng huá.We should learn the cream of ancient culture.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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
艸艸cǎograss
Sound part声符shēngfú
青
青qīng菁jīng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
菁 is written with 艸 (grass) above 青; 青 gives the sound.
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.