勉強

简 勉强 · 繁 勉強
Mandarin · pinyin miǎn qiǎng

Meanings

  1. to do with difficulty
  2. to force sb to do sth
  3. reluctant
  4. barely enough
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Characters in this entry

勉
miǎn · endeavor, make effort; urge
強
qiáng · strong, powerful, energetic
强
qiáng · strong, powerful, energetic
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3–3 · mian3 qiang3

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

勉強 · find source passages ↗ · 勉强 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 5 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

min5 koeng5

Cantonese word readings for 勉強. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

adj

  1. forced; inadequate; grudging; reluctant
  2. passable; barely acceptable

adv

  1. reluctantly; in a forced manner; grudgingly

verb

  1. to force somebody to do something
  2. to make do; to do with difficulty

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack