健 (jiàn): healthy, to invigorate, to strengthen
健 (jiàn) is a Chinese character meaning “healthy.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 亻 (structural) and 建 (structural). It ranks #978 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 健 someone 亻 who can build 建 things; 建 also provides the pronunciation. Its radical form 亻 (person) appears in many related characters such as 人 (rén, person), 什 (shén, what), 今 (jīn, now).
Definitions
- healthy
- to invigorate
- to strengthen
Etymology & Origin
ideographicSomeone 亻 who can build 建 things; 建 also provides the pronunciation
Decomposition: ⿰亻建 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 健 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 健
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 健康adjective | jiàn kāng | health | 3 |
| 健身verb | jiàn shēn | to exercise | 4 |
| 健身房noun | jiàn shēn fáng | gym | 4 |
| 健全adjective/verb | jiàn quán | robust | 6 |
| 保健verb | bǎo jiàn | health protection | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 健忘 | jiàn wàng | forgetful |
| 健壮 | jiàn zhuàng | robust |
| 健谈 | jiàn tán | entertaining in conversation |
| 健在 | jiàn zài | (of an elderly person) alive and in good health |
| 强健 | qiáng jiàn | sturdy |
| 健美 | jiàn měi | healthy and beautiful |
| 复健 | fù jiàn | rehabilitation |
| 健将 | jiàn jiàng | (archaic) adept and valiant military general |
| 稳健 | wěn jiàn | firm |
| 运动健将 | yùn dòng jiàn jiàng | champion-level athlete (title awarded by the General Administration of Sport of China based on performance in interna... |
| 矫健 | jiǎo jiàn | strong and healthy |
| 健美操 | jiàn měi cāo | aerobics |
| 健硕 | jiàn shuò | well-built (physique) |
| 强身健体 | qiáng shēn jiàn tǐ | to keep fit and healthy |
| 雄健 | xióng jiàn | vigorous |
健 appears in 61 compound words: 54 as the first character, 30 as the last, and 16 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 健 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (6)
Example Sentences
他健品很好，在村里很受尊敬。
tā jiàn pǐn hěn hǎo , zài cūn lǐ hěn shòu zūn jìng .
He is in excellent health and is highly respected in the village.
男生小便完甩一下能改善前列腺健康吗?促进局部血液循环吗
nán shēng xiǎo biàn wán shuǎi yī xià néng gǎi shàn qián liè xiàn jiàn kāng ma ? cù jìn jú bù xiě yè xún huán ma
Can a boy urinate and shake improve prostate health? Promote local blood circulation
无糖食物等于健康食物吗?高脂无糖饼干热量依然高吗
wú táng shí wù děng yú jiàn kāng shí wù ma ? gāo zhī wú táng bǐng gān rè liàng yī rán gāo ma
Is sugar free food equal healthy food? Are high-fat sugar-free biscuits still high in calories?
27岁男健身突胸痛肿胀 竟是罕见“胸大肌断裂”
2 7 suì nán jiàn shēn tū xiōng tòng zhǒng zhàng jìng shì hǎn jiàn xiōng dà jī duàn liè
The 27-year-old man's sudden chest pain and swelling during fitness is actually a rare "pectoralis major muscle rupture"
健康网》隔夜菜别再热! 医点名3种叶菜 复...
jiàn kāng wǎng gé yè cài bié zài rè ! yī diǎn míng 3 zhǒng xié cài fù . . .
Health Network" Overnight dishes don't get hot anymore! The doctor named 3 kinds of leafy vegetables and recovered...
睡觉太亮恐影响健康?医点名3类人风险高
shuì jué tài liàng kǒng yǐng xiǎng jiàn kāng ? yī diǎn míng 3 lèi rén fēng xiǎn gāo
Sleeping too brightly may affect your health? The doctor named 3 types of people with high risk
那么，这代表更健康的城市吗？
Nàme, zhè dàibiǎo gèng jiànkāng de chéngshì ma?
So, will this mean healthier cities?
这些东西对健康有害吗？
Zhèxiē dōngxi duì jiànkāng yǒuhài ma?
Will this stuff jeopardize my health?
你今天去不去健身房？
Nǐ jīntiān qù bù qù jiànshēnfáng?
Are you going to the gym today?
每天吃无花果健康吗？
Měitiān chī wúhuāguǒ jiànkāng ma?
Is it OK to eat figs every day?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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Is 健 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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