僵硬 jiāngyìng stiff
stiff; rigid
How to remember 僵硬: 僵 stiff + 硬 firm = stiff.
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How it is used
- Stiff and rigid - physically unable to move freely - 手脚僵硬 (shǒujiǎo jiāngyìng) stiff limbs; 表情僵硬 (a stiff, frozen expression).
- Literal for bodies, muscles, corpses; also figurative for inflexible methods (手段僵硬).
- Contrast 僵化 (jiānghuà, the process of thought/systems ossifying) - 僵硬 is the physical or manner-of-doing stiffness.