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Kanji Detail for 剛 - "sturdy, rigid"

剛

  • Meaning

    剛 means "sturdy, rigid." Also associated with hard.

    1. Strong - Having great physical power.

    2. Rigid - Stiff; unyielding.

    3. Hard - Solid and firm.

  • Four-character idioms with 剛

    • 内剛外柔 ないごうがいじゅう Listen gentle on the outside but tough on the inside; an iron hand in a velvet glove
    • 内柔外剛 ないじゅうがいごう Listen tough on the outside but soft at heart
    • 剛毅果断 ごうきかだん Listen dauntless and decisive; with fortitude and resolution
    • 外剛内柔 がいごうないじゅう Listen being tough on the outside but soft at heart; a faint-hearted person pretending to be brave
    • 外柔内剛 がいじゅうないごう Listen gentle but firm
    • 質実剛健 しつじつごうけん Listen unaffected and sincere, with fortitude and vigor (vigour)

  • Origin of 剛

    岡, the ridge, lending the reading gō, beside the blade radical 刂: hardness that holds its edge against rock. Firm, unbending strength.

    How to remember it: A blade 刂 tested against the ridge 岡 — the edge that does not turn: unyielding.

    Sources: en.wiktionary.org · mojinavi.com

  • Tattoo check: 剛

    • Verified meaning: sturdy, rigid
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Used in real Japanese given names (read かたし, がん, こう, ごう)
    • Also carries these associations: hard

    A single kanji rarely maps one-to-one onto an English word. Read the meanings and associations above as a set — a character that fits the dictionary definition can still carry a connotation you did not intend.

  • Name readings of 剛

    Given names 剛(かたし)Listen 剛(こう)Listen 剛(ごう)Listen 剛(こわし)Listen 剛(たかし)Listen 剛(たけし)Listen 剛(たける)Listen 剛(つよし)Listen

    Surnames 剛(がん)Listen 剛(ごうざき)Listen 剛(ごうじ)Listen

  • Compare with other kanji that mean the same thing:

  • Dictionary Citations

    The meaning above is based on the following sources:

    KANJIDIC2 A comprehensive Japanese-English kanji dictionary

    sturdy; strength

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    hard, tough, rigid, strong

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    hard; firm; strong; just; barely; exactly

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    hard, strong, tough; just, barely

    XSZD Xuéshēng Zìdiǎn (學生字典) - Student's Dictionary

    Hard; firm. Strong. Opposite of 柔 (soft). Such as 剛強 (strong), 剛斷 (resolute). Being obstinate and not accepting advice is called 剛愎自用 (headstrong and self-willed). | Meaning of coincidence. Such as 剛逢 (just encountered), 剛過 (just passed), meaning exactly at that time.

  • Onyomi

    tip

    goh(ゴウ) ゴウ

  • Kunyomi

    tip
    none

  • Strokes

    tip

    10 strokes

  • Radical

    tip

    刀 刂 (katana・ritto)

  • Related Keywords

    rigid hard sturdy strong fierce firm immediate precise resolute tough determined durability enduring force iron might power resilient robust solid steel strength

Sentences including 剛

  • Soft words win hard hearts.

  • He has a good fastball.

  • It is true that he has a good fast ball, but he is often wild.

  • It is true he has a good fast ball, but he is often wild.

  • She was strong enough to run a 10-mile race.

  • He seems like a softy on the surface, but at the core he's got an iron will that makes him an extremely tough negotiator.

Sentences from Japanese classical masterpieces

More kanji with the radical 刀 刂 (katana・ritto)

See all kanji with this radical →

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