ngan6 sing3韌性韧性

Jyutpingngan6 sing3

Yalengahn sing

名詞

Definition

Toughness; the ability of a material to absorb energy and deform without fracturing.

neutraldescriptionsother

How it's used

Primarily used in engineering and scientific contexts to describe the ability of a material to absorb energy and deform plastically before fracturing. While it shares the character 韌 with the common adjective 韌 (chewy/tough), 韌性 is strictly the abstract noun referring to the physical property. It is rarely used to describe the personality trait of human resilience, for which Cantonese speakers prefer terms like 堅毅 or 唔怕輸.

Examples

le1呢zung3種mat6物liu2料ge3嘅ngan6韌sing3性hou2好gou1高，hou2好naan4難zing2整laan6爛。

This material has high toughness and is hard to break.

nei5你zi1知m4唔zi1知le1呢faai3塊ge3嘅ngan6韌sing3性jau5有gei2幾do1多aa4呀？

Do you know how much toughness this steel plate has?

Common phrases

ngan6韌sing3性gou1高

high toughness

ngan6韌sing3性koeng4強

strong toughness

Common mistake

Do not confuse this with the adjective 韌, which describes food that is difficult to chew or objects that are flexible yet hard to break. Using 韌性 to describe a piece of overcooked meat will sound overly technical and unnatural.