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较劲 (jiào jìn) — to compete with someone, to pit oneself against (often stubbornly); to exert special effort, to push oneself

Definition

较劲 (jiào jìn) means to compete stubbornly or push oneself hard, often against a person, an obstacle, or oneself — more about rivalry/face than a formal contest. Less neutral than 竞争, less sport-like than 比赛.

verb
to compete with someoneto pit oneself against (often stubbornly)to exert special effortto push oneself

Examples

  • 较劲，。
    Tā zǒng xǐ huan gēn wǒ jiào jìn, shén me shì dōu yào bǐ gè gāo dī.
    He always likes to compete with me, wanting to compare on everything.
  • ，。
    Tā men liǎ jiào le yì tiān de jìn, shuí yě bù fú shuí.
    The two of them competed all day long, neither willing to concede.
  • ，较劲，。
    Gōng zuò shàng yù dào nán tí shí, tā xǐ huan gēn zì jǐ jiào jìn, zhí dào zuò hǎo wéi zhǐ.
    When encountering difficulties at work, he likes to push himself until he does it well.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

较jiàocompare
劲jìnstrength

较 and 劲 combine as comparing strength, so the word means competing or pushing oneself.

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 較; 较 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
車車jūvehicle
Sound part声符shēngfú
交
交jiāo較jiào
Same sound today

In the traditional form 較, 車 (vehicle) gives the sense and 交 gives the sound; the simplified 较 is a later abbreviation.

Open 较 →

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 7-9Conflict & Agreement

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