紧 (jǐn): tight; taut

Meanings

1 tight; taut
2 tense; urgent
3 strict; stringent

Characters

紧

jǐn

tight; urgent; tense

Contains 糸 (silk radical) — silk pulled tight.

Examples

这条裤子太紧了。

Zhè tiáo kùzi tài jǐn le.

These pants are too tight.

时间很紧。

Shíjiān hěn jǐn.

Time is tight.

你抓紧绳子！

Nǐ zhuājǐn shéngzi!

Hold the rope tight!

Tips

usage

不要紧 (bú yào jǐn) is a very common expression meaning 'it doesn't matter / no problem.'

grammar

紧 as a complement: 抓紧 (hold tight), 绑紧 (tie tight), 关紧 (close tightly).

Components

radical

糸 mì

silk; cord

Bottom silk-radical 糸 (full sitting-on-the-bottom form, not contracted 纟) — the indexing radical. The original referent was a silk cord pulled tight, then generalised to any tightness. Same silk-radical anchors 系 (tie), 索 (rope), 缝 (sew).

semantic

又 yòu

hand; again

Top fused unit — simplified from traditional 緊's upper element 臤 (hand 又 grasping under watching eye 臣). The PRC reform absorbed the elaborate 臣 into the hand-shape; what remains is a 又-silhouette expanded to 4 strokes (standalone 又 has just 2 strokes — 丿+㇏). The kinetic image of a hand pulling something taut is preserved — gripping firmly to set up the cord-tightening below.