僵化 jiānghuà to become rigid
How to remember 僵化: 僵 stiff + 化 change = to become rigid.
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How it is used
- To become rigid/ossified, lose flexibility - usually of thinking or systems - 思想僵化 (sīxiǎng jiānghuà) rigid, ossified thinking.
- Figurative and negative - a mindset, institution, or system stuck in fixed patterns, unable to adapt.
- The 化 marks a process of becoming rigid. Contrast literal 僵硬 (jiāngyìng, physically stiff).