TongTong
Sign in

过硬 (guò yìng) — (of skills, quality, or competence) solid, reliable, up to the mark

Definition

过硬 describes skills, ability, or quality that is solid and proven — 'really up to the mark.' Use it for tested competence, unlike 可靠 or 稳妥 which describe people or plans you can trust in general.

adjective
(of skills, quality, or competence) solidreliableup to the mark

Examples

  • 过硬。
    Tā de jì shù zhēn guò yìng.
    His skills are really top-notch.
  • ，过硬。
    Yào xiǎng hé gé, néng lì bì xū guò yìng.
    To be qualified, one's ability must be up to standard.
  • 过硬。
    Zhè ge tuán duì zuò fēng shí fēn guò yìng.
    This team's work ethic is very solid.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

过guòto pass
硬yìnghard or firm

过, to pass, and 硬, hard or firm, combine to mean passing a test firmly, hence solid and reliable.

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 過; 过 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辵辵chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
咼
咼wāi過guò
Same sound today

The traditional form 過 pairs 辵 (walk) with 咼 as a sound component; the simplified 过 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 过 →

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
石石shí
Sound part声符shēngfú
更
更gèng硬yìng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

硬 is built from 石, meaning stone, to show hardness or stiffness, and 更, which gives the sound.

Open 硬 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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