強

Qualitative: Physical or vital strength (robust, energetic) and social or political power (dominant); often used in contrast with 弱 (weak).

Functional: Coercion (to force, compel, or impose will) and psychological persistence (to insist or be stubborn).

The glyph functions as either an attribute or a verb. When followed by an object or another verb, it typically shifts from the descriptive "strong" to the active "force/compel." While early texts do not mark the tonal distinction found in later Chinese (qiáng vs. qiǎng), the functional split between adjective and verb is the primary driver of meaning.

Contrast with 剛: while both can be translated as "strong," 強 implies capacity, dominance, or applied force (dynamic power dynamics), whereas 剛 refers to hardness, rigidity, or an unyielding nature (material or character quality).

Variants include U+5F3A and U+5F4A. These represent graphic shifts in the arrangement of components with no evidence of semantic divergence; they are treated as interchangeable.