功 gōng — merit; achievement; result; service; accomplishment
只要努力，就一定会成功。Zhǐ yào nǔ lì, jiù yí dìng huì chéng gōng.As long as you work hard, you will surely succeed.
Common words: 成功 (chéng gōng)、功能 (gōng néng)、功夫 (gōng fu)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "merit"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "merit", including 功 (gōng), 绩 (jī / jì), 勋 (xūn). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "merit" covers 3 different Chinese characters — 功 (gōng), 绩 (jī / jì), 勋 (xūn) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 3 characters do not share a sound — their readings span gōng, jī, jì, xūn — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 功 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 功 gōngmerit; achievement; result; service; accomplishmentUseful words: 成功, 功能
- 绩 jī / jìmerit; accomplishmentUseful words: 成绩, 业绩
- 勋 xūnmedal; meritUseful words: 勋章, 勋业
Common words for these 3 "merit" characters
Anchor each of these 3 characters in a word you can picture — start with 功 (gōng) — so "merit" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
成功chéng gōngto succeed; success; successful; fruitful功能gōng néngfunction; capability功夫gōng fuskill; art; kung fu; labor成绩chéng jìachievement; performance records; grades业绩yè jìachievement; accomplishment; (in more recent usage) performance (of a business, employee etc); results绩点jì diǎn(education) grade point勋章xūn zhāngmedal; decoration勋业xūn yè(literary) distinguished service and achievement元勋yuán xūnleading light; founding father; principal proponent
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 3 ways to say "merit".
绩 jī / jì — merit; accomplishment
经过努力，他的成绩有了很大的进步。Jīng guò nǔ lì, tā de chéng jì yǒu le hěn dà de jìn bù.After hard work, his grades improved a lot.
Common words: 成绩 (chéng jì)、业绩 (yè jì)、绩点 (jì diǎn)
勋 xūn — medal; merit
这位老英雄为国家立下了汗马功勋。Zhè wèi lǎo yīng xióng wèi guó jiā lì xià le hàn mǎ gōng xūn.This old hero rendered great service to the country.
Common words: 勋章 (xūn zhāng)、勋业 (xūn yè)、元勋 (yuán xūn)
All 3 characters
Open 功、绩、勋 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.