gāng

hard

firm; strong; just; barely; exactly

ridge (冈) + knife (刂) = hard and firm

The knife radical anchors the meaning: something hard and unyielding, like the edge of a blade. 冈 gives the sound gāng and does not carry the meaning here.

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RidgePhonetic
Knife (variant of 刀)Semantic

Words with 刚

金刚

jīn gāng

diamond

金刚山

jīn gāng shān

Kumgangsan Tourist Region in east North Korea

金刚座

jīn gāng zuò

Bodhimanda (place of enlightenment associated with a Bodhisattva)

金刚怒目

jīn gāng nù mù

(idiom) to have a face as terrifying as a temple's guardian deity

金刚手菩萨

jīn gāng shǒu pú sà

Vajrapani Bodhisattva

金刚杵

jīn gāng chǔ

vajra scepter (ritual object of Buddhism)

金刚狼

jīn gāng láng

Wolverine, comic book superhero

金刚石

jīn gāng shí

diamond

金刚砂

jīn gāng shā

carborundum

金刚总持

jīn gāng zǒng chí

Vajradhara

金刚萨埵

jīn gāng sà duǒ

Vajrasattva

金刚鹦鹉

jīn gāng yīng wǔ

macaw

More characters with 冈