Translingual

Han character

強 (radical 57 弓+8, 11 strokes, cangjie input 弓戈中戈 (NILI), four-corner 1323₆, composition ⿰弓𧈧 or ⿸弘虫)

References

• KangXi: page 359, character 23
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 9815
• Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 2, page 999, character 7
• Unihan data for U+5F37

Chinese

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 強
Small seal script

Zhengzhang (2003): Phono-semantic compound (形聲, OC *ɡaŋ, *ɡaŋʔ) : phonetic 彊 ‎(OC *kaŋs, *ɡaŋ, *ɡaŋʔ) + semantic 虫 ‎(“insect”).

Shuowen: Phono-semantic compound (形聲, OC *ɡaŋ, *ɡaŋʔ) : phonetic 弘 ‎(OC *ɡʷɯːŋ) + semantic 虫 ‎(“insect”).

Pronunciation 1

Definitions

強

1. strong; powerful; energetic
2. to strengthen
3. staunch; strong-willed
4. brutal; forceful
5. capable; of a high level
6. superior; better
7. slightly more than; plus
   • 你做了多少了？……四分之一強。 [MSC, trad.]
     你做了多少了？……四分之一强。 [MSC, simp.]

     Nǐ zuò le duōshào le?...... Sì fēnzhī yī qiáng. [Pinyin]

     How much have you done?...A bit more than a fourth.

Antonyms

• 弱 (ruò)

Compounds

Pronunciation 2

Definitions

強

1. to force; to compel; to coerce

   勉強 / 勉强  ―  miǎnqiǎng  ―  to force somebody to do something

2. to strive

Compounds

Pronunciation 3

Definitions

強

1. ^†hard; stiff
2. stubborn; obstinate
3. A surname​.

Compounds

Japanese

Kanji

(grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji)

1. strong
2. powerful
3. potent

Readings

• Goon: ごう (gō) < がう (gau)
• Kan’on: きょう (kyō) < きやう (kyau)
• Tōon: がん (gan) (non-Jōyō reading)
• Kun: つよい (tsuyoi), しいる (shiiru) > しひる (shihiru), つよまる (tsuyomaru)

Compounds

Proper noun

強 ‎(hiragana つよし, romaji Tsuyoshi)

1. A male given name

Korean

Hanja

強 • ‎(gang) (hangeul 강, McCune-Reischauer kang, Yale kang)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Vietnamese

Han character

• Hán Việt: cường, cưỡng
• Nôm: càng, cượng, cướng, gắng, cường, gàn, ngượng, cưỡng, gương, gượng, gàng

Compounds

• 強國 ‎(cường quốc)

Adverb

強 ‎(càng)

1. With a comparative or verb phrase, establishes a parallel with one or more other such comparatives.
   • 18th–19th century: Hồ Xuân Hương, "Vịnh quạt"

     強(càng)燶(nóng)包(bao)饒(nhiêu)辰(thời)強(càng)沫(mát)/要(yêu)店(đêm)諸(chưa)斐(phỉ)吏(lại)要(yêu)𣈜(ngày)

     The hotter you get, the more refreshing you get / It wasn’t enough to love at night, now we love during the day.

2. all the more, all the less

References

• Lê Sơn Thanh, "Nom-Viet.dat", WinVNKey (details)
• Thiều Chửu : Hán Việt Tự Điển Hà Nội 1942
• Trần Văn Chánh: Từ Điển Hán Việt NXB Trẻ, Ho Chi Minh Ville, 1999
• Vũ Văn Kính: Đại Tự Điển Chữ Nôm , NXB Văn Nghệ, Ho Chi Minh Ville, 1999