刚毅
gāng yì · HSK 7
resolute
刚 (hard/firm) + 毅 (perseverance) = resolute, steadfast
刚 means hard or firm (think steel); 毅 means perseverance or fortitude. Together they describe someone unyielding in character. 毅 also appears in 毅力 (willpower), reinforcing the steadfast sense.
刚 — knife 刂 + net/ridge 岡 (phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The knife radical 刂 carries the meaning of something hard or sharp, while 岡 (a mountain ridge) supplies the sound. The original sense was 'hard, firm,' as in a blade's edge, which extended to 'strong, unyielding' and later the adverbial sense 'just now, just barely.'