ruò
faible; faible
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他很弱，不能做体力活。
tā hěn ruò, bùnéng zuò tǐlìhuó.
He is very weak and can't do physical work.
这个国家的经济很弱。
zhège guójiā de jīngjì hěn ruò.
This country's economy is very weak.
他的身体很弱，经常生病。
tā de shēntǐ hěn ruò, jīngcháng shēngbìng.
He is in poor health and often gets sick.
强 (qiáng)
strong
壮 (zhuàng)
sturdy
The Chinese character 弱 (ruò) for "weak" is composed of two parts: the radical 纟 (miǎn) and the phonetic component 弱 (ruò). The radical 纟 originally meant "silk" or "thread", and it is often used in characters related to textiles or clothing. In the case of 弱, the radical 纟 indicates that the character is related to something soft or delicate. The phonetic component 弱, on the other hand, is a simplified form of the character 瘐 (ruò), which means "sick" or "ill". The combination of these two components creates the character 弱, which conveys the idea of something that is weak, fragile, or vulnerable.
