Chinese

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phonetic
simp. and trad.
(ㄍㄧㄥ)

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Hokkien, possibly (kēng) or (keng).

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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ㄍㄧㄥ (Taiwanese Mandarin, slang)

  1. obstinate
  2. nonexpressive and nervously tense; rarely showing feelings; inhibited; stiff and uncomfortable
    大家不熟時候ㄍㄧㄥ [MSC, trad.]
    大家不熟时候ㄍㄧㄥ [MSC, simp.]
    Gēn dàjiā bùshú de shíhòu hěn g'īng. [Pinyin]
    When he's around people he's not familiar with, he gets very tense.

Antonyms

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Adverb

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ㄍㄧㄥ (Taiwanese Mandarin, slang)

  1. obstinately

Verb

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ㄍㄧㄥ (Taiwanese Mandarin, slang)

  1. to hold on firmly despite extreme adversity, pain, etc.

Synonyms

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Usage notes

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  • Loanwords from Taiwanese Hokkien are occasionally written in Bopomofo, so as to alert the reader that the word should be pronounced according to its sound in Hokkien rather than Mandarin.