夯 (hāng) - To ram, tamp, or pound & heavy labor

夯Tone 1

hāng ｜ 5 strokes ｜ radical: 大

枫惠

夯 · hāng

To ram, tamp, or pound;

heavy labor;

also used in internet slang to mean 'awesome' or 'impressive'.

To ram, tamp, or poundheavy laboralso used in internet slang to mean 'awesome'

Usage highlights

Ramming earthHeavy laborRamming toolStrong laborerPopular songTo tamp down

Synonyms

  • 砸— to smash, pound
  • 捣— to pound, pestle
  • 压实— to compact

Antonyms

  • 松— loose, relaxed
  • 轻— light, easy

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • Workers use a rammer to compact the soil (夯土).
  • This task requires a lot of physical effort (很夯的活儿).
  • That new song is really popular (夯歌).
  • He is a very strong laborer (夯汉).

Collocations

  • Ramming earth(夯土)
  • Heavy labor(夯活)
  • Ramming tool(夯具)
  • Strong laborer(夯汉)
  • Popular song(夯歌)
  • To tamp down(夯实)

Idioms

  • To consolidate the foundation(夯实基础)
  • Heavy and clumsy(夯笨)
  • Crude and awkward(粗夯)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • Originally referred to heavy labor tools used in construction, especially for compacting earth in traditional Chinese architecture.
  • In modern Taiwanese and internet slang, borrowed to mean 'popular', 'trendy', or 'awesome' due to phonetic similarity to English 'hung'.

FAQ