耿 (gěng): upright

耿 (gěng) is a Chinese character meaning “upright.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 耳 (structural) and 火 (semantic). It ranks #2553 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, 耿 fire. Its radical form 耳 (ear) appears in many related characters such as 闻 (wén, to hear, to smell), 职 (zhí, job, duty), 联 (lián, connect, unite).

Spoken pronunciation

HSK 7-9 Radical: 耳 ear10 strokesFrequency #2553耳 structural 火 semantic

Definitions

upright

Etymology & Origin

耿

pictophoneticfire

Decomposition: ⿰耳火 (layout: left-right)

Components:耳structural 火semantic

Stroke Order

Practice writing 耿 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.

Words & Compounds

Common Compounds

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
耿耿于怀phrase	gěng gěng yú huái	to take troubles to heart (idiom)
忠心耿耿phrase	zhōng xīn gěng gěng	loyal and devoted (idiom)
耿直adjective	gěng zhí	honest
耿耿adjective	gěng gěng	bright
耿马傣族佤族自治县	gěng mǎ dǎi zú wǎ zú zì zhì xiàn	Gengma Dai and Va Autonomous County, in Lincang City 臨滄市\|临沧市, Yunnan
耿马县	gěng mǎ xiàn	see 耿馬傣族佤族自治縣\|耿马傣族佤族自治县
耿马	gěng mǎ	see 耿馬傣族佤族自治縣\|耿马傣族佤族自治县
耿介adjective	gěng jiè	upright and outstanding
耿饼	gěng bǐng	dried persimmon (from Geng village, Heze 荷澤\|荷泽, Shandong)

Total compounds

As first character

As last character

As middle character

耿 appears in 9 compound words: 89 as the first character, 0 as the last, and 11 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.

Strongest Collocations

Characters that most frequently co-occur with 耿 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.

忠zhōng

0.5482,888 co-occurrences

鄙bǐ

0.441104 co-occurrences

怀huái

0.434472 co-occurrences

孟mèng

0.427129 co-occurrences

寐mèi

0.40926 co-occurrences

爽shuǎng

0.403134 co-occurrences

秉bǐng

0.402176 co-occurrences

仲zhòng

0.400348 co-occurrences

心xīn

0.3982,444 co-occurrences

伊yī

0.3961,318 co-occurrences

Idioms & Chengyu (2)

耿耿于怀gěnggěngyúhuáiHSK 7+

to brood on; to not forget about a matter and always be troubled or vexed by it

phrase

忠心耿耿zhōngxīngěnggěngHSK 7+

loyal and devoted

phrase

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

他为人耿直，说话做事都很直接。

Tā wéirén gěngzhí, shuōhuà zuòshì dōu hěn zhíjiē.

He is an upright person; his words and actions are very direct.

中国新闻网·文化Jul 2026

为了追演员张宇峰的线下越剧演出，美籍华人耿晓文专程从美国飞到中国。

wéi le zhuī yǎn yuán zhāng yǔ fēng de xiàn xià yuè jù yǎn chū , měi jí huá rén gěng xiǎo wén zhuān chéng cóng měi guó fēi dào zhōng guó .

To attend actor Zhang Yufeng’s live Yue opera performance, Geng Xiaowen, a Chinese American, flew all the way from the United States to China.

少数派Jul 2026

尤其是负面情绪，虽然当下耿耿于怀，却又很难说清楚。

yóu qí shì fù miàn qíng xù , suī rán dāng xià gěng gěng yú huái , què yòu hěn nán shuō qīng chǔ .

This is especially true of negative emotions—even though they weigh heavily on your mind at the moment, they’re hard to put into words.

LtnMar 2026

曾耿元携手台北爱乐少年乐团 “谁与争锋”献4...

céng gěng yuán xié shǒu tái běi ài lè shǎo nián lè tuán shéi yǔ zhēng fēng xiàn 4 . . .

Zeng Gengyuan Joins Forces with the Taipei Philharmonic Youth Orchestra to Present "Who Can Rival Us" in 4...

LtnMar 2026

曾耿元担任台北爱乐少年乐团驻团音乐家赞团员...

céng gěng yuán dān rèn tái běi ài lè shǎo nián lè tuán zhù tuán yīn lè jiā zàn tuán yuán . . .

Zeng Gengyuan Appointed Resident Musician of the Taipei Philharmonic Youth Orchestra; Praises the Members...

LtnFeb 2026

離婚黃子佼半年!孟耿如近況曝光周丹薇洩私下互動

離 hūn 黃 zǐ 佼 bàn nián ! mèng gěng rú jìn 況 pù guāng zhōu dān 薇洩 sī xià hù 動

Half a year since Huang Tzu-chao's divorce! Meng Gengru's recent updates revealed as Chou Tan-wei spills on their private interactions

Character Family

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 耿 (gěng) mean in Chinese?

耿 (gěng) primarily means "upright." It is classified as HSK Level 7-9, making it an expert-level character. It ranks #2553 in character frequency.

How many strokes does 耿 have?

耿 is written with 10 strokes. The correct stroke order matters for recognition and handwriting speed — practice with the animated guide above to build proper technique.

What is the radical of 耿?

The radical associated with 耿 is 耳 (ear). This radical appears in many characters related to ear.

What are the components of 耿?

耿 is composed of: 耳 (structural), 火 (semantic). Its IDS decomposition is ⿰耳火 with a left-right layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.

What are common words containing 耿?

Common words with 耿 include: 耿耿于怀 (gěng gěng yú huái, "to take troubles to heart (idiom)"); 忠心耿耿 (zhōng xīn gěng gěng, "loyal and devoted (idiom)"); 耿直 (gěng zhí, "honest"); 耿耿 (gěng gěng, "bright"); 耿马傣族佤族自治县 (gěng mǎ dǎi zú wǎ zú zì zhì xiàn, "Gengma Dai and Va Autonomous County, in Lincang City 臨滄市|临沧市, Yunnan"). There are over 9 compound words containing this character.

What characters sound the same as 耿 (gěng)?

Several characters share the pronunciation gěng: 更 (more), 耕 (to plow). Context and tones help distinguish between them in speech and writing.

Is 耿 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?

Yes, 耿 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing 耿 with real-time feedback

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