硬 (yìng): hard
硬 (yìng) is a Chinese character meaning “hard.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 石 (semantic) and 更 (phonetic). It ranks #1168 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 硬 stone. Its radical form 石 (stone) appears in many related characters such as 确 (què, certain, true), 碗 (wǎn, bowl), 碰 (pèng, to touch, to bump).
Definitions
- hard
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 硬 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 硬
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 硬币 | yìng bì | coin |
| 强硬 | qiáng yìng | tough |
| 硬盘 | yìng pán | hard disk |
| 僵硬 | jiāng yìng | stiff |
| 硬汉 | yìng hàn | man of steel |
| 硬化 | yìng huà | to harden |
| 硬仗 | yìng zhàng | tough battle |
| 生硬 | shēng yìng | stiff |
| 硬朗 | yìng lǎng | robust |
| 嘴硬 | zuǐ yìng | reluctant to admit a mistake |
| 硬撑 | yìng chēng | to make oneself do sth in spite of adversity, pain etc |
| 硬木 | yìng mù | hardwood |
| 肝硬化 | gān yìng huà | cirrhosis |
| 硬是 | yìng shì | just |
| 硬碰硬 | yìng pèng yìng | to meet force with force |
硬 appears in 100 compound words: 63 as the first character, 19 as the last, and 18 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 硬 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (7)
to drag somebody along kicking and screaming; to stretch the meaning
Example Sentences
这个床垫太硬了，睡了一晚腰背很酸痛。
Zhè gè chuángdiàn tài yìng le, shuì le yì wǎn yāobèi hěn suāntòng.
This mattress is too hard; my back is very sore after sleeping one night.
AI“硬控”春节档,电影为何更有“人味”了
A I yìng kòng chūn jié dàng , diàn yǐng wéi hé gēng yǒu rén wèi le
AI "hard controls" the Spring Festival file, why is the movie more "human"
北京海淀:春晚同款机器人返场,硬核科技“打开”庙会
běi jīng hǎi diàn : chūn wǎn tóng kuǎn jī qì rén fǎn chǎng , yìng hé kē jì dǎ kāi miào huì
Beijing Haidian: The same robot returns to the Spring Festival Gala, and hard-core technology "opens" the temple fair
中国智造硬核力 春晚·机器·人
zhōng guó zhì zào yìng hé lì chūn wǎn jī qì rén
China's Smart Manufacturing Powerhouse Spring Festival Gala · Machines · Humans
越疆机器人登上央视春晚,硬核科技点亮高端智造之光
yuè jiāng jī qì rén dēng shǎng yāng shì chūn wǎn , yìng hé kē jì diǎn liàng gāo duān zhì zào zhī guāng
Yuejiang Robotics Takes the Stage at CCTV Spring Festival Gala, Hardcore Tech Illuminates the Future of High-End Intelligent Manufacturing
科学内调成美肤新刚需,肌原光以“产学研”硬实力登陆..
kē xué nèi diào chéng měi fū xīn gāng xū , jī yuán guāng yǐ chǎn xué yán yìng shí lì dēng lù . .
Scientifically Formulated Skincare Emerges as New Beauty Essential, Jiyuan Guang Lands with Industry-Academia-Research Strength...
把它保存在外接式硬碟。
Bǎ tā bǎocún zài wàijiē shì yìngdié.
Save it on the external hard drive.
那么硬卡怎么用呢？
Nàme yìng kǎ zěnme yòng ne?
So, how's the card used?
我需要先放一枚硬币吗？
Wǒ xūyào xiān fàng yī méi yìngbì ma?
Do I need to put a coin in first?
他偶然在古董店里发现了这个旧硬币。
Tā ǒurán zài gǔdǒng diàn lǐ fāxiàn le zhège jiù yìngbì.
He came across this old coin in an antique shop.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 硬 (yìng) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 硬 and 软?
How many strokes does 硬 have?
What is the radical of 硬?
What are the components of 硬?
What are common words containing 硬?
What characters sound the same as 硬 (yìng)?
Is 硬 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 硬 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.