刚

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(literary) hard; firm; strong; exactly; precisely; barely; only just; just; only a short while ago

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Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Phono-semantic compound (形声字)

刂 meaning “knife” + 冈 sound ( gāng )

Components 冈刂

just now · Heisig RSH #1171

冈 ridge of a hill + saber

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
刚果民主共和国	Gāng guǒ Mín zhǔ Gòng hé guó	Democratic Republic of Congo
刚正不阿	gāng zhèng bù ē	upright and plainspoken
血气方刚	xuè qì fāng gāng	full of sap (idiom); young and vigorous
变形金刚	Biàn xíng jīn gāng	Transformers (franchise)
金刚山	Jīn gāng shān	Kumgangsan Tourist Region in east North Korea
金刚石	jīn gāng shí	diamond; also called 鑽石\|钻石[zuan4 shi2]
金刚座	jīn gāng zuò	Bodhimanda (place of enlightenment associated with a Bodhisattva)
刚果河	Gāng guǒ Hé	Congo River
丈二金刚摸不着头脑	zhàng èr Jīn gāng mō bu zháo tóu nǎo	see 丈二和尚，摸不著頭腦\|丈二和尚，摸不着头脑[zhang4 er4 he2 shang5 , mo1 bu5 zhao2 tou2 nao3]
刚一	gāng yī	to be just about to; to have just started to
刚性	gāng xìng	rigidity
金刚	Jīn gāng	King Kong
金刚	jīn gāng	diamond; (used to translate Sanskrit "vajra", a thunderbolt or mythical weapon); guardian …
金刚总持	Jīn gāng zǒng chí	Vajradhara
刚体	gāng tǐ	rigid body
金刚怒目	jīn gāng nù mù	(idiom) to have a face as terrifying as a temple's guardian deity
刚察县	Gāng chá Xiàn	Gangca, a county in Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture 海北藏族自治州[Hai3 bei3 Zang4 zu2 Zi4 z…
阳刚	yáng gāng	manly; masculine
天刚亮	tiān gāng liàng	daybreak
刚正	gāng zhèng	honest; upright

Characters sharing the sound component 冈 — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
冈 sound part	gāng	ridge or crest of hill
钢	gāng	steel; hard, strong, tough
岗	gǎng	post; position
纲	gāng	program, outline; principle, guiding thread