Taxonomy of meanings for 弱:　　

Additional information about 弱

說文解字:

Criteria
• BOY
  

  1. Tóng zǐ 童子 is the standard neutral word for a boy below the age of 15, but the strong connotation is that of ignorance and immaturity.

  2. Shù zǐ 豎子 refers to a boy as opposed to an infant, but very often often with strong pejorative force.

  3. Tóng 童 by itself is an archaic word referring to a boy, but the term enters freely into non-archaic binomes.

  4. Rú zǐ 孺子 can refer to a child of any sex, and certainly often refers to young girls, but like rú 孺 alone the word does sometimes refer specifically to boys regarded as catamites.

  5. Nán 男 refers generally to males, and only by extension to boys. Note incidentally that apparently even in Tang times a nán ér 男兒 tends to be a young man rather than a boy.

  6. Zǐ 子 refers generally to children, but it is often hard to distinguish the meaning from that of boy, when the reference obviously is to males. See CHILD.

  7. Ruò zǐ 弱子 refers to a (probably male) child as an object of maternal love, and there is pervasive doubt whether this term refers to a boy or a girl, although given traditional preoccupations with boys, one suspects the typical reference is taken to little boys needful of motherly care. See CHILD.

• STRONG
  

  1. The current general word for the temporary state of strength, physical or political, are qiáng 強 (ant. ruò 弱 "weak").

  2. The typically nominal or adverbial lì 力 commonly refers to a permanent property of strength..

  3. Yì 毅 (ant. nuò 懦 "weak") refers to inflexible and unshakeable firmness as well as strength.

  4. Jìng 勁 (ant. léi 羸 "weak") and jìng 競 (ant. shuāi 衰 "reduced state, lack of energy") refers to strength mainly under the aspect of a physical or mental energy.

  5. Zhuàng 壯 (ant. ruò 弱 "weak") refers to longish-term constitutional physical strength.

  6. Jiàn 健 (ant. shuāi 衰 "in a reduced state, lacking energy") refers to temporary short-term constitutional strength which is the result of a good physical constitution. See HEALTHY

• BEAUTIFUL
  

  [ABSOLUTE/GRADED]

  [ACOUSTIC/VISUAL]

  [ARTIFICIAL/NATURAL]

  [[COMMON/RARE]]

  [ELEVATED/VULGAR]

  [GENERAL/SPECIFIC]

  [HUMAN/NON-HUMAN]

  [POETIC/PROSAIC]

  1. The general word is měi 美 "handsome and admirable" (ant. è 惡 "ugly") which refers to anything concrete or abstract which is attractive or handsome in a dignified way, and the word often retains its primary culinary sense of "tasty".

  [GENERAL], [GRADED]; [[COMMON]]

  2. Lì 麗 (ant. sù 素 "unaodorned") is often restricted to physical objects, prototypically to clothes, and emphasises their balanced symmetric beauty, occasionally also - by analogy - the well-aligned symmetric beauty of mountains.

  [ELEVATED], [NON-HUMAN], [VISUAL!]

  3. Wén 文 (ant. zhì 質 "merely material") emphasises cultivated external as well as internal elegance as well as traditionalism.

  [ARTIFICIAL], [ELEVATED], [NON-HUMAN], [VISUAL!]

  4. Yǎ 雅 (ant. sú 俗 "vulgar") emphasises primarily external elevated elegance.

  [ACOUSTIC!], [ARTIFICIAL], [ELEVATED+], [NON-HUMAN]

  5. Hǎo 好 "comely, handsome" (ant. chǒu 醜 "ugly") refers indiscriminately to men and women, but the word is sometimes more general and even abstract in application and refers to attractive words or attractive moral qualities.

  [HUMAN!], [NATURAL], [VISUAL]

  6. Xiù 秀 "of vigorous and imposing beauty" focusses on flourishing and flamboyant beauty in analogy with that of flowers.

  [ELEVATED], [NATURAL], [NON-HUMAN], [POETIC], [VISUAL]; [[RARE]]

  7. Huá 華 "of striking and colourful beauty" (ant. sú 俗 "vulgar") focusses on flourishing and flamboyant superficial or only apparent beauty, on the analogy analogy with that of flowers.

  [ARTIFICIAL], [ELEVATED], NON-HUMAN], [SUPERFICIAL], [VISUAL]

  8. Zhuàng 壯 "stately" (ant. ruò 弱 "weak and unsightly") is virile beauty associated with strength and vigour. See STRONG

  [NATURAL], [MARGINAL], [POETIC]; [[RARE]]

  9. Jiā 佳 "of outstanding beauty" (NB: liè 劣 "unremarkable" is the ant. of jiā 佳 "outstanding", and not in the meaning of "outstandingly beautiful") emphasises comparative beauty compared to others in the same group.

  [GRADED], [ELEVATED], [NATURAL], [POETIC]

  10. Dū 都 "urbane and exquisitely beautiful" (ant. bì 鄙 "rustic and inelegant") is a highly poetic word that can only be used in elevated prose.

  [ARCHAIC], [ELEVATED], [POETIC], [VISUAL]; [[RARE]]

  11. Yán 妍 "attractive and exquisite (of humans as well as human products)" (ant. chì 蚩 "unattractive") refers to elaborate beauty. See SEXY.

  [ARCHAIC], [ELEVATED], [HUMAN], [POETIC]; [[RARE]]

  12. Xiū 脩 / 修 "refined moral beauty" refers to moral as well as physical beauty, thus coming close the Greek kalokagathia, but never approaching the latter in importance as a cultural keyword.

  <div>[ELEVATED], [ARTIFICIAL]; [[RARE]]</div><div><br></div><div>吳蓬，東方審美詞彙集萃，上海文藝出版社，2002 lists the following rough definitions of a variety of terms of aesthetic appreciation by the artist and scholar Wu Peng. Many of these terms express conventional appreciative flattery only. This list does provide one not particularly well-known artist's subjective readings of some basic terms of traditional Chinese aesthetic approbation.</div><div>勃：富有生机之突起。<br>苍：浓的，毛的，老练的。<br>沉：沉着不浮，有重量感。<br>冲：调成和淡之意向。<br>饬：整顿。<br>粗：大而不笨者。<br>淳：清，往往易薄，然而淳是清中滋润之厚。<br>醇：与淳略同，这醇是提炼后的滋润之厚。<br>绰：与"约"字合用，即舒而不纵之意。<br>澹：平静而有幽淡之趣。<br>淡：与浓艳相对。<br>宕：放荡不拘。<br>跌：往往与"宕"字合用，即是起伏明显之状。<br>端：方正而不出偏，有稳实感。<br>敦：很实在的，结实的厚。<br>繁：众而密，有生气。<br>方：与平正同义。<br>丰：饱满而充足。<br>风：审美中之"风"指的是一种气韵格调。<br>飞：大幅度的流动。<br>刚：属于阳性的，有正力的，与柔软相对。</div><div>高：俯视一切的、超然得不一般。<br>工：规矩，不潦草。<br>孤：自我独立。<br>古：旧气，更有历史的抗怀千载之迹象。<br>骨：内在的架子。<br>犷：是跟"雄悍"接近，在粗中发展开来。<br>瑰：不单调的美。<br>乖：不和顺。<br>憨：近于拙朴而敦实。<br>酣：厚润四溢。<br>豪：激动向上之貌，有气魄。<br>宏：大而有气度。<br>厚：有沉积的饱和。<br>华：明亮而艳丽。<br>环：长久圆融之境。<br>荒：与"枯简"接近，不修饰。<br>豁：与开朗接近，然比开朗明显。<br>恢：宽广有余。<br>浑：团然一气之象，有朦胧感。<br>简：经过一番整修的减少。<br>娇：美得可爱。<br>警：审美中用此警字，往往指敏锐、颖达。<br></div><div>劲：能察觉的力。<br>精：很到位。<br>隽：精致而具内涵之美。<br>娟：秀而婉丽。<br>崛：高起而突出。<br>俊：人材杰曲之美。<br>峻：山高而陡。在书画中是浓而锋利之用笔。<br>空：有灵气之空白。<br>枯：干而毛，生的萎缩，然亦是力的显露。<br>宽：大度而畅朗。<br>旷：广阔而空灵。<br>辣：是枯毛爽直的老笔触。<br>朗：明亮而豁然。<br>琅：圆而光润。<br>伦：是同类之意，带有文明意念。<br>冷：跟"淡"与"静”接近，与浓烈相对。<br>炼：精到而有功力。<br>淋：与"漓”往往合用，是无拘束的洒落。<br>流：明显的动感。<br>迈：阔而放的超势。<br>莽：宽广而繁密的，朴直奔放的。<br>袤：与"古"字合用，即悠长久远之趣。<br>茂：有生气的繁密。<br>媚：柔美之趣。<br>宓：安而静。<br>明：清晰有亮度。<br>凝：浓重而不流动。<br>懦：毫无火气之柔软。<br>平：一般的，接近于稳。<br>朴：原始状态，形象较准。<br>嫖：与"姚"字合用，即动疾之状，而有气势。<br>奇：不一般。<br>气：生发的，迎面直扑而来的感觉。<br>清：是混的相对。其间透出一股朗气。<br>峭：山之直而险，在书画中是露锋的侧锋用笔，有明显露<br>尖状态。文章中之峭，是意气直逼。<br>遒：婉转有致，内力强劲。<br>虬：与遒类似，但动感较强，弯曲而有力度。<br>意：诚实谨慎。<br>儒：代表文人之书卷气。<br>洒：散落无拘束。<br>赡：富有与丰实。若与"疏”、"逸”组合即成"澹”或"安"之义。</div><div>骚：审美中之骚字，可引伸为风骚至风流感。<br>韶：美丽有光泽。<br>涩：在不爽快的进程中，流露出内力之美。<br>深：不是浮面的。<br>神：精与气合。高端的。<br>生：不成熟，但比成熟有味。<br>肆：任意放纵。<br>松：松是灵活自然，是一切技巧之本要。<br>瘦：与粗笨相对，在审美中的"瘦"，是指细长而精练。<br>疏：一种稀少秀朗之美。<br>肃：有立即静穆下来之势。<br>率：与潦草随便有别，爽快而直接。<br>邃：深远而悠久。<br>阅：通达之意。<br>给：与"宕"合用，是安详舒放之趣。<br>天:很自然，一片天箱之"天"。<br>恬：安静而坦然。<br>挺：直而有生气。<br>婉：柔和而曲折。<br>温：是一种暖调与缓和的综合。</div><div>巍：往往与"峨"合用，是高大厚实之趣。<br>洗：与"炼”合用，即是"精炼"之意，凡物之洁出于洗。<br>犀：与"利"字合用，即坚利。<br>熙：光明，和乐。<br>细：指细而不纤。<br>娴：文静而雅致。<br>闲：一种高雅的自由。<br>萧：疏少有致。<br>潇：散朗而润泽。<br>馨：很醇厚的香气。<br>篁："篁古”是悠远辽阔之意。<br>雄：强大，有力度，有霸气。<br>秀：灵巧的，有生气的，美好的显露。<br>虚：表象空，但并非真空。<br>雅：文气而不俗。<br>妍：鲜美而柔性。<br>严：认真，不马虎。<br>淹：一种浸沉与精深明达之境。<br>野：超脱、不规范。<br>冶：经过一番精致修饰。<br>逸：悠闲的起伏。</div><div>意：精神倾向。<br>莹：透明而幽亮。<br>雍：往往与“容"字合用，有和顺之貌。<br>幽：静而深。<br>腴：肥润而饱和。<br>郁：厚积而有生气。<br>纤：与"迥"字合用，即弯环回绕之趣。<br>遹：与"瑰"字合用，即纤迥美丽之趣。<br>渊：往往与"懿"合用，是深润而悠美之趣。<br>圆：接近于饱满润滑。<br>蕴：与"藉"合用，即内涵丰富。<br>韵：一种余味不尽之趣。<br>恣：放纵的，无拘束的。<br>滋：湿润感。<br>自：出于本性的流露。<br>质：本体的，实在的。<br>纵：放逸无拘之状。<br>拙：接近朴，形不准。<br>庄：端正之貌。<br>卓：与“荤"合用，是突出明显之状。<br></div><div><br></div><br>

• HARD
  

  1. The standard word for internal inherent solidity is jiān 堅 (ant. cuì 脆 "brittle"), and the standard word for external firmness, sturdiness and immobility is gù 固.

  2. Gāng 剛 (ant. róu 柔 "pliable") focusses on physical hardness as the core of inflexibility and firmness, and the word has related figurative meanings, with both positive and negative connotations.

  3. Zhuàng 壯 and jìng 勁 (all ant. ruò 弱 "weak") add the notion of engergy and vigour to that of firmness.

  See STRONG.

  NP: Yìng 硬 (ant. ruǎn 軟 "soft") is a post-Han word.

• WEAK
  

  1. The current general word for weakness of any physical or abstract kind, and of anything including states, persons, and animals is ruò 弱 (ant. qiáng 強 "strong").

  2. Léi 羸 (ant. jiàn 健 "strong and healthy") typically refers to physical weakness in humans.

  3. Bào 薄 (ant. zhuàng 壯 "strong and vigorous") can refer to a low or weak intensity of something.

  4. Cuì 脆 / 膬 (ant. jiān 堅 "strong and hard") refers to physical weakness as a result of brittleness and a propensity to break easily.

  5. Chí 弛 (ant. jiān 堅 "strong and hard") refers to weakness as a result of abstract or physical slackening.

  6. Shuāi 衰 (ant. shèng 盛 "strong and flourishing") refers to the process of weakening that attends any kind of decline.

  7. Hào 耗 (ant. kāng 康 "increasingly vigorous and healthy") refers to the process of weakening that results from using up available resources.

  8. Huǎ3n 緩 (ant. jié 捷 "nimble and vigorous in one's effort") is somewhat marginal in the group but can refer to habitual weakness of effort through slowness and lack of urgent and decisive action.

• CHILD
  

  1. The commonest word for a child is zǐ 子 "son; child (male or female); rarely: baby".

  2. Ér 兒 refers to children of fairly young age.

  3. Tóng 童 refers to a person as a young child without focusing on whose child it is and the word is often used in compounds.

  4. Gōng zǐ 公子 refers specifically to a prince or son by a royal father and his main wife. See PRINCE.

  5. Chì zǐ 赤子 refers to a fairly small or new-born child.

  6. Ruò zǐ 弱子 and 童子 refer to a very young child.

  7. Xiǎo zǐ 小子 is often used for small children but can also refer to people lower in hierachy as for example the disciples of a master (often when the master is addressing them); in addition it is sometimes used by the ruler (when mourning for his parents) and by high officers as humble first person pronoun.

  8. Rǔ zǐ 孺子 can refer to very young children, but the word can also refer more generally to youths, especially girls.

Word relations
• Ant: (WEAK)壯/STRONG Zhuàng 壯 (ant. ruò 弱 "weak") refers to longish-term constitutional physical strength.
• Ant: (WEAK)強 / 強/STRONG The current general word for the temporary state of strength, physical or political, are qiáng 強 (ant. ruò 弱 "weak"). 13 Attributions
• Ant: (WEAK)彊/STRONG 1 Attribution
• Object: (WEAK)陵/OPPRESS Líng 陵 (ant. yù 育 "take loving care of", and the rare jí 藉, and chéng 乘 emphasise the abuse of supremacy of social or political position. 1 Attribution
• Contrast: (WEAK)凌/OPPRESS2 Attributions
• Contrast: (WEAK)柔/SOFT The current standard word for anything pliable and soft is róu 柔, and I have found no competing words with related meanings. 1 Attribution
• Assoc: (WEAK)亂/CHAOS The very dominant word in this group is luàn 亂 (ant. zhì 治 "state of good government, state of good order") which refers to all kinds of reprehensible lack of order. 2 Attributions
• Assoc: (WEAK)幼/YOUNG The current general "absolute" word for tender youth is yòu 幼 (ant. zhǎng 長 "grown up"), and this word refers to young age of animals, as well as humans.
• Assoc: (WEAK)懦/FEAR Qiè 怯 "chicken-livered and unlikely to undertake risky tasks" and nuò 懦 (ant. yǒng 勇 "courage, boldness") as well as dàn 憚 "unduly prone to feelings of fear" refer to being pusilanimousness or the lack or courage where courage is required. 2 Attributions
• Assoc: (WEAK)柔/SOFT The current standard word for anything pliable and soft is róu 柔, and I have found no competing words with related meanings. 5 Attributions
• Assoc: (WEAK)軟/WEAK4 Attributions
• Oppos: (WEAK)桀/CRUEL1 Attribution