剛 means “sturdy, unbending”

ごう · gou

Also: strength

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

ゴウ

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 10 strokes

The story

A hill (岡) beside a blade (刂): picture a sword forged hard enough to cut into a hillside. 剛 is unbending strength: 質実剛健, plain and sturdy, is a favorite school motto, and a pitcher's 剛速球 is a blazing fastball.

Used in 剛健 (gouken, sturdy/robust), 剛速球 (gousokkyuu, blazing fastball), and 金剛 (kongou, adamant/diamond)

More from Bold & Fierce

• 酷 cruel
• 壮 robust
• 敢 daring
• 激 intense
• 厳 strict
• 堅 firm
• 豪 mighty
• 猛 ferocious
• 冒 risk
• 烈 fierce

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Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.