力
power; force; strength; ability; strenuously
2 strokes
Dict coverage rank #55 U+529B
How 力 is formed
Ideographic compound (会意字)
A plow's head representing strength
components: 丿
? unknown part
How to remember it
power · Heisig RSH #732
— as a component also called: muscle, power
Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.
Characters built with 力 as their sound component
These characters all use 力 (lì) as their phonetic component — compare how they read:
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 力 sound component | lì | strength, power; capability, influence |
| 历 | lì | history; calendar |
| 劣 | liè | low-quality, inferior, bad |
| 肋 | lèi | ribs; chest |
| 仂 | lè | excess, remainder, surplus |
| 艻 | lè | sweet basil |
| 阞 | lè | sedimentary layer; mineral vein |
Words containing 力
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 水力学 | shuǐ lì xué | hydraulics |
| 大力水手 | Dà lì Shuǐ shǒu | Popeye (the Sailor) |
| 不力 | bù lì | not to do one's best; not to exert oneself |
| 大力 | dà lì | energetically; vigorously |
| 人力 | rén lì | manpower; labor power |
| 有心无力 | yǒu xīn wú lì | (idiom) to want to do sth but be unable to; willing but unable |
| 国力 | guó lì | a nation's power |
| 水力 | shuǐ lì | hydraulic power |
| 动力学 | dòng lì xué | dynamics (math.); kinetics |
| 天体力学 | tiān tǐ lì xué | celestial mechanics |
| 力学 | lì xué | (physics) mechanics; (literary) to study hard |
| 力心 | lì xīn | fulcrum; center of force |
| 学力 | xué lì | scholastic attainments |
| 心力 | xīn lì | mental and physical efforts |
| 电动力学 | diàn dòng lì xué | electrodynamics |
| 地力 | dì lì | fertility; productivity (of soil or land) |
| 无力 | wú lì | to lack strength; to feel weak; to lack the ability or power (to do sth) |
| 有气无力 | yǒu qì wú lì | weakly and without strength (idiom); dispirited |
| 生物力学 | shēng wù lì xué | biomechanics |
| 马力 | mǎ lì | horsepower |