耿

gěng

火 + 耳

Definitions

gěng (adjective) bright; honest; upright

Gěng (noun) surname

Etymology phono-semantic

fire

Semantic: 火

About

耿 is composed of the ear radical 耳 beside the fire radical 火. It originated as a phono-semantic compound: the fire component supplies the original meaning of brightness or a glowing light, while early forms experimented with different phonetics before settling on 耳. Over time, the literal sense of brightness (like a flickering flame) shifted to a metaphor for moral uprightness and honesty. Nowadays, 耿 primarily appears in compounds meaning forthrightness and integrity, and remains a common surname.

Etymology Hide

Bronze Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Clerical Western Jin dynasty (266-316 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我的同学叫耿伟。

Wǒ de tóngxué jiào Gěng Wěi.

My classmate is called Geng Wei.

他性格很耿直。

Tā xìnggé hěn gěngzhí.

He has a very honest and straightforward personality.

耿先生是个好人。

Gěng xiānsheng shì gè hǎo rén.

Mr. Geng is a good person.

她说话耿直，不拐弯抹角。

Tā shuōhuà gěngzhí, bù guǎiwān mòjiǎo.

She speaks honestly and doesn't beat around the bush.

我对他的耿直行为印象深刻。

Wǒ duì tā de gěngzhí xíngwéi yìnxiàng shēnkè.

I am deeply impressed by his honest behavior.

尽管遇到困难，他始终保持着耿直的品质。

Jǐnguǎn yù dào kùnnán, tā shǐzhōng bǎochí zhe gěngzhí de pǐnzhì.

Despite encountering difficulties, he always maintains an honest character.

在讨论中，他耿直地提出了反对意见。

Zài tǎolùn zhōng, tā gěngzhí de tíchūle fǎnduì yìjiàn.

During the discussion, he honestly raised opposing opinions.

他的耿直虽然有时让人难以接受，但却赢得了大家的尊重。

Tā de gěngzhí suīrán yǒushí ràng rén nányǐ jiēshòu, dàn què yíngdéle dàjiā de zūnzhòng.

Although his honesty is sometimes hard to accept, it has won everyone's respect.

Related Characters

Composed characters:

Component: 火

Component: 耳

耿