韧性

• Pinyin: rèn xìng
• Hanzi breakdown: 韧 = 韦 + 刃 (leather + blade = tough yet flexible); 性 = 忄+ 生 (heart + life = innate character)

Meaning

Toughness; resilience; tenacity. The quality of withstanding pressure or recovering from adversity without breaking.

Used in both physical and metaphorical senses. In materials science, it refers to a material's resistance to fracture under stress. Metaphorically, it describes personal or organisational strength to endure hardship and adapt. Closely associated with 坚韧 and 毅力.

Examples

1. 这种新型复合材料具有极高的韧性，广泛应用于航空航天领域。 This new composite material has extremely high toughness and is widely used in the aerospace industry.
2. 创业者必须具备足够的韧性，才能在一次次失败中不断成长。 Entrepreneurs must have enough resilience to keep growing through failure after failure.
3. 她凭借惊人的韧性，在重重困难中坚持完成了这部历时十年的学术著作。 With remarkable tenacity, she persisted through countless difficulties and completed this academic work that took ten years to finish.

Usage Guide

Context: science, personal development, psychology

Tone: positive

Do Say

• 面对逆境，韧性往往比天赋更能决定一个人最终能走多远。(When facing adversity, resilience often determines how far a person can go more than innate talent.)
• 这种合金的韧性远超传统钢材，是材料工程领域的重大突破。(The toughness of this alloy far exceeds that of traditional steel, marking a major breakthrough in materials engineering.)

Don't Say

• 他的韧性很硬 — 韧性 implies flexible toughness, not rigidity; use 他很坚韧 or 他的意志力很强 instead

Origin & History

韧 (tough/flexible) + 性 (nature/quality/property)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal