Chinese character · HSK 6
壮 (zhuàng) — “strong / robust”
The character combines '丬' (a piece of split wood) and '士' (a warrior or strong man), visually conveying the idea of a robust warrior whose sheer strength can splinter heavy wood.
How to remember 壮
A strong warrior (士) strikes the wooden post so hard that splinters fly off (丬).
Inside the character
- 丬 (split-wood (left)) — sound component. Half of a split tree on the left — appears in 状 / 壮 / 妆 / 床 / 装.
- 士 (scholar / officer) — meaning component. Originally an axe-bearing warrior — often marks scholars, officers, or upright men.
Where 壮 comes from
Historically a phono-semantic compound: '士' (warrior/man) provides the meaning of physical robustness, while '爿' (split wood, now simplified to '丬') provides the phonetic pronunciation.
Words that use 壮
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 壮观 | zhuàng guān | spectacular / magnificent sight | HSK 6 |
| 强壮 | qiáng zhuàng | strong / sturdy | HSK 6 |
| 健壮 | jiàn zhuàng | robust / healthy | HSK 7 |
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More characters: 壶 (hú, pot / kettle) · 夹 (jiā, to clip / to squeeze) · 妈 (mā, mother / mom) — or browse the full character library.