劲 (jìn): strength; energy; vigor

Meanings

1 strength; energy; vigor
2 enthusiasm; drive; spirit
3 mood; manner; expression
4 interest; fun

Characters

Left phonetic 巠 + right radical 力 (strength) — force applied through an underground watercourse, water pushing through a narrow channel.

Examples

使劲推门，门卡住了。

Shǐjìn tuī mén, mén kǎzhù le.

Push the door hard — it's stuck.

团队每个人都干劲十足。

Tuánduì měigèrén dōu gànjìn shízú.

Everyone on the team is full of drive.

这游戏太没劲了，换一个吧。

Zhè yóuxì tài méijìn le, huàn yī gè ba.

This game is so boring — let's try another one.

Tips

usage

jìn covers physical strength, drive, and a vibe / mood / 'fun factor': 使劲 (exert force), 用劲 (apply strength), 干劲 (drive), 起劲 (energetic), 对劲 (feels right), 没劲 (boring), 嚼劲 (chewy mouthfeel). For the formal 'stalwart / strong / powerful' sense, switch to the jìng reading.

register

The jìn reading is heavily colloquial, especially in northern Mandarin — most jìn compounds love an 儿 ending: 劲儿, 一个劲儿 (nonstop), 有劲儿 (energetic / fun), 对劲儿 (right; to one's liking). Drop the 儿 for the southern reading, but tone stays jìn.

Components

radical

力 lì

strength; power

Right radical 力 (strength) anchors 劲 to the family of force-words. The pictograph originally depicted a plough or a flexed arm; from there it gives 劲 its core meaning of energy, vigor, knack, force. Same radical groups 劲 with 加 (add force), 助 (help), 努 (strive), 勇 (brave) — all about how strength is applied.

phonetic

巠 jīng

underground watercourse

Left phonetic 巠 supplies the sound — jīng shifted to jìn through vowel and tone change, the same drift that gives 颈 (neck) and 径 (path). 劲's left side is the contracted 5-stroke form (standalone 巠 has 7 strokes), the same shortened shape on the left of 颈, 经, 径.