Several parts combine into one character.

The character 強 builds on 弓 (a bow) plus 厶 + 虫 (the latter a generic radical for small creatures, originally pictographic). The composite carried the feel of "taut as a drawn bow." Three different forms now coexist across the CJK world: Traditional 強 (Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong), Japanese shinjitai 強 (visually identical to traditional), and Mainland simplified 强 — a different but ancient variant the PRC adopted as standard.

Korean reading "gang." A core character: 強力 (gangnyeok, powerful), 強盜 (gangdo, robber), 強制 (gangje, compulsion), 強弱 (gangyak, strength), 堅強 (gyeongang, sturdy). Note that 勉強 does NOT exist as a Korean word — Koreans say 공부 instead.

Mandarin 強/强 is a famous 破音字 (tone-shifting character): qiáng (2nd tone) = "strong, powerful" — 强大 (qiángdà, mighty), 加强 (jiāqiáng, strengthen). qiǎng (3rd tone) = "to force, reluctantly" — 勉强 (miǎnqiǎng), 强迫 (qiǎngpò, to force). Same character, different tones, opposite emotional valence.

Japanese has two on-readings reflecting different historical borrowings: キョウ (kyō) — 強力 (kyōryoku, powerful), 強調 (kyōchō, emphasis). ゴウ (gō) — 強引 (gōin, forceful / pushy), 強情 (gōjō, stubborn). Kun-reading つよい (tsuyoi, "strong") is one of the most common adjectives in spoken Japanese, paired with its opposite 弱い (yowai, weak).

Memory aid: a bow (弓) drawn taut — that's strength.