勤
Symbols Virtues
work ethic
ㄑㄧㄣˊ qín
Two versions of the same picture, and both are free with no account and no watermark. The first has no background at all, which is the one to send your artist — but a phone or computer photo viewer set to dark will show black strokes on dark grey and it can look like nothing downloaded. If that happens, use the second one: identical characters on a plain white background. Either way you get the characters on their own — the square and the faint guide lines you see above are not in the file. Each character is 1000px, so a two-character download is 2000×1000, and the script and layout are the ones you picked.
Script
Characters
Same in both
Layout
Rubbing mode: white on black, as a stone rubbing. The download is unaffected.
Turning up and doing the work, consistently, whether or not anyone is watching.
Before you commit
Choose with care勤 is a compliment but a plain, almost schoolroom one, closer to diligent than to the pride English packs into work ethic. 敬業 carries the pride.
Pairs well with勤奮 for hardworking, 敬業 for professional dedication, 一分耕耘一分收穫 for effort repaid.
Cultural note勤能補拙 — diligence makes up for a lack of talent — is the proverb behind this character, and it says a good deal about how effort is valued.
Meaning
Diligent, industrious, hardworking without pause.
The traditional virtue of steady effort, praised for centuries above raw talent.
Other characters for “work ethic”
What to do next
Pick the script and layout you want above, download the PNG, and send that file to your artist. Ask them to work from the file rather than redrawing the character freehand — that is where strokes go missing.
Related concepts