精

精 (Kangxi radical 119, 米+8, 14 strokes, cangjie input 火木手一月 (FDQMB), four-corner 9592₇, composition ⿰米青(GHTJV) or ⿰米靑(K or U+FA1D))

• 𡁔, 𪇒, 𦾿, 𧓔 (Contains 青)
• 𭨇 (Contains 靑)

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 910, character 10
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 26997
• Dae Jaweon: page 1336, character 8
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 5, page 3150, character 11
• Unihan data for U+7CBE

• Unihan data for U+FA1D

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *ʔsleŋ, *ʔsleŋs): semantic 米 (“rice”) + phonetic 青 (OC *sʰleːŋ) – polished rice.

Probably related to 晶 (OC *ʔsleŋ, “brilliant; crystal”).

精

1. essence; concentrate; extract

   酒精  ―  jiǔjīng  ―  alcohol; ethanol

2. spirit; energy; vigor

   精疲力竭  ―  jīngpílìjié  ―  exhausted

   • 故上悖日月之明，下爍山川之精，中墮四時之施，惴耎之蟲，肖翹之物，莫不失其性。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
     故上悖日月之明，下烁山川之精，中堕四时之施，惴耎之虫，肖翘之物，莫不失其性。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]

     From: Zhuangzi, circa 3^rd – 2^nd centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

     Gù shàng bèi rìyuè zhī míng, xià shuò shānchuān zhī jīng, zhōng duò sìshí zhī shī, zhuìnuò zhī chóng, xiàoqiào zhī wù, mòbù shī qí xìng. [Pinyin]

     It is just as if, above, the brightness of the sun and moon were darkened; as if, beneath, the productive vigour of the hills and streams were dried up; and as if, between, the operation of the four seasons were brought to an end: in which case there would not be a single weak and wriggling insect, nor any plant that grows up, which would not lose its proper nature.

3. demon; goblin; spirit

   妖精  ―  yāojīng  ―  magical creature or being

4. seminal fluid; semen; sperm; seed

   受精  ―  shòujīng  ―  fertilization

5. (traditional Chinese medicine) jing (dense essence stored in the kidneys that is the material basis for the physical body)

   精氣／精气  ―  jīngqì  ―  vital substance which maintains body function

6. to be skilled; to be proficient; to be expert

   精於繪畫／精于绘画  ―  jīngyú huìhuà  ―  to be proficient in painting

7. perfect; excellent

   精良  ―  jīngliáng  ―  of superior quality; excellent

8. refined; picked; choice

   精米  ―  jīngmǐ  ―  refined rice

   精兵  ―  jīngbīng  ―  elite troops

9. exquisite; meticulous; fine; precise

   精密  ―  jīngmì  ―  precise

   這瓷器的手工很精。 [MSC, trad.]
   这瓷器的手工很精。 [MSC, simp.]

   Zhè cíqì de shǒugōng hěn jīng. [Pinyin]

   The workmanship of the porcelain is very exquisite.

10. smart; clever; sharp; shrewd

    你以為你能玩兒得過他？他可精了。誰算計誰還不一定呢！ [MSC, trad.]
    你以为你能玩儿得过他？他可精了。谁算计谁还不一定呢！ [MSC, simp.]

    Nǐ yǐwéi nǐ néng wánr de guò tā? Tā kě jīng le. Shéi suànji shéi hái bùyīdìng ne! [Pinyin]

    You think you could defeat him? He is witted and alert. That who's going to set whom up is not certain yet!

    做廣告做得好精 [Cantonese, trad.]
    做广告做得好精 [Cantonese, simp.]

    zou⁶ gwong² gou³ zou⁶ dak¹ hou² zeng¹ [Jyutping]

    runs crafty advertisements

11. (dialectal) extremely; very (before certain adjectives)

    精瘦  ―  jīng shòu  ―  extremely thin

    叫雨淋了個精濕 [MSC, trad.]
    叫雨淋了个精湿 [MSC, simp.]

    jiào yǔ lín le ge jīng shī [Pinyin]

    got made extremely wet by the rain

12. (dialectal, of meat) lean

    Alternative form: 腈

    • 2000, 梁左 and 梁欢, 闲人马大姐, episode 2, 李建华 (actor):

      哦，合着吃饭有你干活没你啊。吃饭挑大碗，干活净偷懒。吃肉挑精的，干活挑轻的。光吃不干，偷懒装蒜。 [Beijing Mandarin, simp.]
      哦，合著吃飯有你幹活沒你啊。吃飯挑大碗，幹活淨偷懶。吃肉挑精的，幹活挑輕的。光吃不幹，偷懶裝蒜。 [Beijing Mandarin, trad.]

      Ò, hé zhe chī fàn yǒu nǐ gàn huór méi nǐ a. Chī fàn tiāo dà wǎnr, gàn huór jìng tōulǎnr. Chī ròu tiāo jīng de, gàn huór tiāo qīng de. Guāng chī bù gàn, tōulǎnr zhuāngsuàn. [Pinyin]

      (please add an English translation of this quotation)

13. (Cantonese) Suffix used to describe person with a negative attribute

    大話精／大话精 [Cantonese]  ―  daai⁶ waa⁶ zing¹ [Jyutping]  ―  liar

    馬騮精／马骝精 [Cantonese]  ―  maa⁵ lau^4-1 zing¹ [Jyutping]  ―  (please add an English translation of this usage example)

14. (Hokkien, derogatory) suffix indicating a kind of person

    宿精 [Hokkien]  ―  sek-chiⁿ [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]  ―  intelligent and sly

15. (Xiamen and Quanzhou Hokkien) accurate; exact; precise
16. (～母) (Chinese linguistics) the Middle Chinese initial of 精 (MC tsjeng)
17. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) polished rice
18. bare; empty

    • 我精拳頭有一雙相送！ [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
      我精拳头有一双相送！ [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]

      From: Shi Nai'an, Water Margin, circa 14^th century CE

      Wǒ jīng quántóu yǒu yī shuāng xiāngsòng! [Pinyin]

      (please add an English translation of this quotation)

19. all; entirely; fully

    • 將些衣服、金珠、首飾，一擄精空。 [MSC, trad.]
      将些衣服、金珠、首饰，一掳精空。 [MSC, simp.]

      Jiāng xiē yīfú, jīnzhū, shǒushì, yī lǔ jīng kōng. [Pinyin]

      (please add an English translation of this quotation)

20. a surname
21. alternative form of 睛
22. alternative form of 菁 (jīng)
23. alternative form of 晶 (jīng)

精

1. (historical dictionaries only) strong

• “精”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[2], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–
• 李如龙 [Li, Ru-long], 刘福铸 [Liu, Fu-zhu], 吴华英 [Wu, Hua-ying], 黄国城 [Huang, Guo-cheng] (2019) “精”, in 莆仙方言调查报告 [Investigation Report on Puxian Dialect] (overall work in Mandarin and Puxian Min), Xiamen University Press, →ISBN, page 270.
• 莆田市荔城区档案馆 [Putian City Licheng District Archives], editor (2022), “精”, in 莆仙方言文读字汇 [Puxian Dialect Literary Reading Dictionary] (overall work in Mandarin and Puxian Min), page 112.

(Fifth grade kyōiku kanji, shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai form 精)

1. essence

• Go-on: しょう (shō, Jōyō ^†)^{←しやう (syau, historical)}
• Kan-on: せい (sei, Jōyō)
• Kun: こころ (kokoro, 精)、しらげる (shirageru, 精げる)^{←しらげる (sirageru, 精げる, historical)}、くわしい (kuwashii, 精しい)^{←くはしい (kufasii, 精しい, historical)}、もののけ (mononoke, 精)
• Nanori: あき (aki)、あきら (akira)、きよ (kiyo)、きよし (kiyoshi)、くわし (kuwashi)、しげ (shige)、しら (shira)、すぐる (suguru)、すみ (sumi)、ただ (tada)、ただし (tadashi)、つとむ (tsutomu)、ひとし (hitoshi)、まこと (makoto)、まさ (masa)、まさし (masashi)、もり (mori)、よし (yoshi)

From Middle Chinese 精 (t͡siᴇŋ, “essence, energy”). Compare modern Mandarin reading jīng.

• (Tokyo) せー [séꜜè] (Atamadaka – [1])^[2][3]
• IPA^(key): [se̞ː]

精(せい) • (sei) -na (adnominal 精(せい)な (sei na), adverbial 精(せい)に (sei ni))

1. detailed, conscientious
2. pure, refined

精(せい) • (sei) 

1. polishing, refining
2. care, conscientiousness
3. something polished or refined, particularly polished white rice
4. vim and vigor, energy in doing things
5. life force, vitality, the energy of living
6. one's emotions, mind, or soul
7. the soul or spirit of a thing, particularly when appearing on its own; a fairy, a sprite
8. semen

• (polishing): 研磨(けんま) (kenma)
• (refining): 精製(せいせい) (seisei)
• (polished rice): 精米(せいまい) (seimai); 白米(はくまい) (hakumai)
• (care): 念入(ねんい)り (nen'iri)
• (vim): 元気(げんき) (genki)
• (vigor): 精力(せいりょく) (seiryoku)
• (emotions): 心(こころ) (kokoro)
• (mind): 精神(せいしん) (seishin)
• (soul): 魂(たましい) (tamashī)
• (spirit): 精霊(せいれい) (seirei)
• (sprite): 妖精(ようせい) (yōsei)
• (semen): 精液(せいえき) (seieki)

Noun stem of verb 精げる (shirageru, “to polish, to refine”), itself derived from 白 (shira, “white”, form used in compounds, usually shiro on its own) + ぐ (gu, verbalizing suffix), originally just meaning to whiten something.

• IPA^(key): [ɕiɾa̠ɡe̞]

精(しらげ) • (shirage) 

1. rice polishing, rice milling
2. polished or milled rice
3. excellence

• (rice polishing): 米磨(こめとぎ) (kometogi)
• (polished rice): 精米(せいまい) (seimai); 白米(はくまい) (hakumai)
• (excellence): 優秀(ゆうしょう) (yūshō)

精 • (jeong) (hangeul 정, revised jeong, McCune–Reischauer chŏng, Yale ceng)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

精: Hán Nôm readings: tinh^[1][2][3]

1. pure, unadulterated; refined
2. essence, spirit
3. detailed, conscientious
4. smart, clever
5. energy, vigour
6. demon; goblin; spirit
7. semen, seminal fluid, a sperm cell