筋 (jīn): muscle, tendon, veins visible under the skin
筋 (jīn) is a Chinese character meaning “muscle.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of ⺮ (structural) and 肋 (structural). It ranks #2196 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 筋 bamboo-like ⺮ tendons in the chest 肋. Its radical form 竹 (bamboo) appears in many related characters such as 笑 (xiào, to laugh), 第 (dì, (prefix indicating ordinal number, as in 第六[di4 liu4] "sixth")), 等 (děng, to wait for).
Definitions
- muscle
- tendon
- veins visible under the skin
Etymology & Origin
ideographicBamboo-like ⺮ tendons in the chest 肋
Decomposition: ⿱⺮肋 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 筋 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 抽筋 | chōu jīn | cramp |
| 脑筋 | nǎo jīn | brains |
| 筋疲力尽 | jīn pí lì jìn | body weary, strength exhausted (idiom) |
| 伤脑筋 | shāng nǎo jīn | to be a real headache |
| 钢筋 | gāng jīn | steel reinforcing bar |
| 动脑筋 | dòng nǎo jīn | to use one's brains |
| 筋骨 | jīn gǔ | muscles and bones |
| 筋斗 | jīn dǒu | tumble |
| 橡皮筋 | xiàng pí jīn | rubber band |
| 皮筋 | pí jīn | rubber band |
| 青筋 | qīng jīn | veins |
| 筋络 | jīn luò | tendons and muscles |
| 一根筋 | yī gēn jīn | stubborn |
| 马利筋 | mǎ lì jīn | tropical milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) |
| 少根筋 | shǎo gēn jīn | (coll.) dim-witted |
筋 appears in 46 compound words: 20 as the first character, 43 as the last, and 37 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 筋 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (6)
to have a sprain or fracture; to suffer from serious injury; to have major mishap or changes
to have a sprain or fracture; to suffer from serious injury; to have major mishap or changes
Example Sentences
这个筋字的意思与它的部首有关。
zhè gě jīn zì de yì sī yú tā de bù shǒu yǒu guān .
The meaning of the character "筋" is related to its radical.
张雪机车的三年窗口期:从“一根筋”造车到WSBK夺冠
zhāng xuě jī chē de sān nián chuāng kǒu qī : cóng yī gēn jīn zào chē dào W S B K duó guàn
这手套膜到底怎么判断啊?面筋网络又是什么?
zhè shǒu tào mó dào de zěn má pàn duàn a ? miàn jīn wǎng lào yòu shì shén má ?
原料行情高挂 丰兴钢筋续涨
yuán liào háng qíng gāo guà fēng xīng gāng jīn xù zhǎng
With raw material prices remaining high, Fengxing rebar continues to rise
汤姆完全筋疲力尽了。
Tāngmǔ wánquán jīnpílìjìn le.
Tom was all worn out.
他大喊的时候，脖子上青筋暴起。
Tā dàhǎn de shíhou, bózi shàng qīngjīn bào qǐ.
When he shouted, the veins in his neck stood out clearly.
我刚刚腿又抽筋了，痛死我了。
Wǒ gānggang tuǐ yòu chōujīn le, tòng sǐ wǒ le.
I just got another leg cramp and it hurts like hell.
“拜个不够行的师父，很伤脑筋吧？” “我也很笨，所以没关系。”
"bài gè bù gòu xíng de shīfu, hěn shāngnǎojīn ba?" "wǒ yě hěn bèn, suǒyǐ méiguānxi."
"It must bother you to have taken a bad master." "I'm stupid too. So, it's all right."
她的脑筋转得很快，无论你对她说些什么，她总能巧妙地作出反驳。
Tā de nǎojīn zhuǎn dehěn kuài, wúlùn nǐ duì tā shuō xiē shénme, tā zǒngnéng qiǎomiào de zuòchū fǎnbó.
She's quick on her feet, so no matter what you say to her, she'll have a witty comeback.
现在正是关键的时候了，请不要还那么死脑筋，丝毫不知权变。
Xiànzài zhèngshì guānjiàn de shíhou le, qǐng bù yào hái nàme sǐ nǎojīn, sīháo bù zhī quánbiàn.
Now is the critical moment. Please stop being so stubborn and inflexible, completely unable to adapt flexibility.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 筋 (jīn) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 筋 have?
What is the radical of 筋?
What are the components of 筋?
What are common words containing 筋?
What characters sound the same as 筋 (jīn)?
Is 筋 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 筋 with real-time feedback
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