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起劲 (qǐ jìn) — energetic, enthusiastic, vigorous

Definition

Describes someone throwing themselves into an activity with high energy and enthusiasm, often used after a verb (干得起劲, 玩得起劲). Less about a warm personality like 热情, more about the vigor of an ongoing action.

adjective
energeticenthusiasticvigorous

Examples

  • 起劲。
    Tā men wán dé zhēn qǐ jìn.
    They are playing with great enthusiasm.
  • 起劲。
    Tā xué zhōng wén hěn qǐ jìn.
    She studies Chinese very energetically.
  • 起劲。
    Guān zhòng gǔ zhǎng gǔ dé hěn qǐ jìn.
    The audience applauded enthusiastically.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

起qǐraise
劲jìnenergy

起 raises 劲, so the image is raising energy, hence energetic and enthusiastic.

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
走走zǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
巳
巳sì起qǐ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

起 is made from 走 and 巳: 走 is the part connected with walking or running, and 巳 gives the sound.

Open 起 →

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 勁; 劲 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
力力lìstrength
Sound part声符shēngfú
巠
巠jīng勁jìn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 勁 pairs 力, meaning strength, with 巠, which gives the sound; the simplified 劲 is a shorthand and its parts are not the original ones.

Open 劲 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Emotions & FeelingsPersonality & Traits

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