强 (qiáng): stubborn, unyielding, strong
强 (qiáng) is a Chinese character meaning “stubborn.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 弓 (semantic) and 虽 (structural). It ranks #292 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 强 bow. Its radical form 弓 (bow) appears in many related characters such as 弟 (dì, younger brother), 张 (zhāng, to open up), 引 (yǐn, to draw (e.g. a bow)).
Definitions
- stubborn
- unyielding
- strong
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 强 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 强
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 强大adjective | qiáng dà | big and strong | 5 |
| 坚强adjective | jiān qiáng | staunch | 5 |
| 强壮adjective/verb | qiáng zhuàng | strong | 6 |
| 强迫verb | qiǎng pò | to compel | 6 |
| 强烈adjective | qiáng liè | strong | 5 |
| 加强verb | jiā qiáng | to reinforce | 4 |
| 勉强adjective/verb | miǎn qiǎng | to do with difficulty | 6 |
| 强调verb | qiáng diào | to emphasize (a statement) | 5 |
| 增强verb | zēng qiáng | to increase | 5 |
| 强度noun | qiáng dù | strength | 5 |
| 顽强adjective | wán qiáng | tenacious | 6 |
| 强化verb | qiáng huà | to strengthen | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 强奸verb | qiáng jiān | to rape |
| 强盗noun | qiáng dào | to rob (with force) |
| 强硬adjective | qiáng yìng | tough |
| 强制verb | qiáng zhì | to force |
| 强暴adjective | qiáng bào | violent |
| 强行adverb | qiáng xíng | to do sth by force |
| 强势noun | qiáng shì | strong |
| 强力adjective | qiáng lì | powerful |
| 强奸犯noun | qiáng jiān fàn | rapist |
| 强悍adjective | qiáng hàn | tough |
| 强项noun | qiáng xiàng | key strength |
| 强迫症noun | qiǎng pò zhèng | obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) |
| 强有力 | qiáng yǒu lì | strong |
| 强劲adjective | qiáng jìng | strong |
| 强加verb | qiáng jiā | to impose |
强 appears in 100 compound words: 64 as the first character, 32 as the last, and 4 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 强 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (19)
synonym of 博學強記 /博学强记 (bóxuéqiángjì, “to have a lot of knowledge and a good memory”)
to support the weak and restrain the strong (idiom); robbing the rich to help the poor
to use lame arguments and perverted logic; shoving false arguments down people's throats; sophistry
synonym of 博學強記 /博学强记 (bóxuéqiángjì, “to have a lot of knowledge and a good memory”)
to support the weak and restrain the strong (idiom); robbing the rich to help the poor
Showing 12 of 19 idioms containing 强.
Example Sentences
强字虽然难写，但意思很有趣。
qiáng zì suī rán nán xiě , dàn yì sī hěn yǒu qù .
The character "强" may be difficult to write, but its meaning is quite interesting.
买刮刮乐停不下来?4星座“赌性超强” 牡羊先冲再说是本能
mǎi guā guā lè tíng bù xià lái ? 4 xīng zuò dǔ xìng chāo qiáng mǔ yáng xiān chōng zài shuō shì běn néng
Can't stop buying scratch cards? 4 constellations are "super gambling" Aries rushes first and then instinctively
强词有理:中国最淡定
qiáng cí yǒu lǐ : zhōng guó zuì dàn dìng
The strong words are reasonable: China is the calmest
马来西亚外海7.1强震 震源极深未发海啸警报
mǎ lái xī yà wài hǎi 7 . 1 qiáng zhèn zhèn yuán jí shēn wèi fā hǎi xiào jǐng bào
The 7.1 strong earthquake off the coast of Malaysia had a very deep epicenter and no tsunami warning was issued
快讯/马来西亚沙巴凌晨发生7.1强震
kuài xùn mǎ lái xī yà shā bā líng chén fā shēng 7 . 1 qiáng zhèn
News/A 7.1 earthquake struck Sabah, Malaysia in the early morning
冬奥会|家乡连线:“最强夫妻档”!电影都不敢这么演..
dōng ào huì jiā xiāng lián xiàn : zuì qiáng fū qī dàng ! diàn yǐng dōu bù gǎn zhè má yǎn . .
Winter Olympics|Hometown Connection: "The Strongest Couple"! The movie doesn't dare to act like this:
我可以把你介绍给强森博士吗?
Wǒ kěyǐ bǎ nǐ jièshào gěi Qiángsēn bóshì ma?
May I introduce you to Dr. Johnson?
太郎有很强的责任感。
Tàiláng yǒu hěn qiáng de zérèngǎn.
Taro has a strong sense of responsibility.
我们使用了强大的措施来预防。
Wǒmen shǐyòng le qiángdà de cuòshī lái yùfáng.
We took strong measures to prevent it.
她是个倔强的女孩。
Tā shì gè juéjiàng de nǚhái.
She's a stubborn girl.
Character Family
弓 Radical Family — Characters sharing the bow radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 强 (qiáng) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 强 and 淡?
How many strokes does 强 have?
What is the radical of 强?
What are the components of 强?
What are common words containing 强?
What characters sound the same as 强 (qiáng)?
Is 强 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 强 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.