骨气
gǔ qì · HSK 7
moral backbone
🦴 骨 (bone) + 气 (spirit/qi) = bone-spirit, i.e. moral backbone
Literal compound: 骨 gǔ 'bone' + 气 qì 'spirit, breath, energy'. Same metaphor as English 'backbone' for moral firmness — someone with 骨气 won't bend under pressure.
气 — steam/vapor radical 气
Originally a pictograph of rising vapor or clouds drifting in the sky, depicting curling streams of air. The character came to mean breath, air, and by extension vital energy or 'qi.' The simplified form 气 keeps the original outline; the traditional 氣 added 米 (rice) to suggest steam rising from cooking grain.