精

Mandarin · pinyin jīng

Meanings

  1. essence
  2. extract
  3. vitality
  4. energy
  5. semen
  6. sperm
  7. mythical goblin spirit
  8. highly perfected
  9. elite
  10. the pick of sth
  11. proficient (refined ability)
  12. extremely (fine)
  13. selected rice (archaic)
Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

精
jīng · essence; semen; spirit
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

1 · jing1

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

1character link44same-tone records
Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗
Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

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.

精 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Rime · Wiktionary

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zeng1 · zing1

Cantonese word readings for 精. 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.

character

  1. essence; concentrate; extract
  2. spirit; energy; vigor
  3. (abbreviation, alt-of) short for 妖精 (yāojīng, “demon; spirit”), used as a suffix
  4. (neologism) short for 妖精 (yāojīng, “fairy”), suffix for a fairy connected with a particular thing
  5. seminal fluid; semen; sperm; seed
  6. (traditional Chinese medicine) jing (dense essence stored in the kidneys that is the material basis for the physical body)
  7. to be skilled; to be proficient; to be expert
  8. perfect; excellent
  9. refined; picked; choice
  10. exquisite; meticulous; fine; precise
  11. smart; clever; sharp; shrewd
  12. (dialectal) extremely; very (before certain adjectives)
  13. (dialectal, of meat) lean
  14. (Cantonese) Suffix used to describe person with a negative attribute
  15. (Hokkien, derogatory) suffix indicating a kind of person
  16. (Xiamen and Quanzhou Hokkien) accurate; exact; precise
  17. (~母) (Chinese linguistics) the Middle Chinese initial of 精 (MC tsjeng)
  18. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) polished rice
  19. bare; empty
  20. all; entirely; fully
  21. (neologism, derogatory, Internet slang) short for 精神 (jīngshén, “spirit”), "spiritually", used as a prefix for people in support of a group as if they were "spiritually" of that group, -phile
  22. a surname
  23. (alt-of, alternative) alternative form of 睛
  24. (alt-of, alternative) alternative form of 菁 (jīng)
  25. (alt-of, alternative) alternative form of 晶 (jīng)

character

  1. (historical dictionaries only) strong

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

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

精 · jing1
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source line 84,158
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source record精 精 [jing1] /essence/extract/vitality/energy/semen/sperm/mythical goblin spirit/highly perfected/elite/the pick of sth/proficient (refined ability)/extremely (fine)/selected rice (archaic)/