疾風勁草

简 疾风劲草 · 繁 疾風勁草
Mandarin · pinyin jí fēng jìng cǎo

Meanings

  1. lit. sturdy grass withstands high winds (idiom)
  2. fig. strength of character is revealed in a crisis
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Characters in this entry

疾
jí · illness, disease, sickness; to hate
風
fēng · wind; air; manners, atmosphere; Kangxi radical 182
勁
Look up this written character
草
cǎo · grass, straw, thatch, herbs
风
fēng · wind; air; manners, atmosphere
劲
jìn · strong, unyielding, tough, power
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

2–1–4–3 · ji2 feng1 jing4 cao3

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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.

疾風勁草 · find source passages ↗ · 疾风劲草 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zat6 fung1 ging6 cou2

Cantonese word readings for 疾風勁草. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

phrase

  1. (idiomatic) only the toughest grass can withstand strong winds
  2. (figuratively) to show one's true colors after a stern test; a steadfast and staunch person unyielding in their integrity

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

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

疾風勁草 · ji2 feng1 jing4 cao3
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source line 75,761
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source record疾風勁草 疾风劲草 [ji2 feng1 jing4 cao3] /lit. sturdy grass withstands high winds (idiom)/fig. strength of character is revealed in a crisis/