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势力 (shì lì) — power (especially in a social or political context); influence; force (military, political, etc.)

Definition

势力 (shìlì) means the power and influence a group or person holds in social, political, or organizational contexts — broader than the physical 'strength' of 力量. Often paired with 政治, 经济, 军事 to form collocations like 军事势力.

noun
power (especially in a social or political context)influenceforce (military, political, etc.)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 势力。
    Zhè ge guó jiā de zhèng zhì shì lì fēi cháng fù zá.
    The political forces in this country are very complex.
  • 势力。
    Zhè jiā gōng sī de jīng jì shì lì hěn qiáng.
    This company's economic influence is very strong.
  • 势力。
    Liǎng gè guó jiā de jūn shì shì lì bù xiāng shàng xià.
    The military forces of the two countries are comparable.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

势shìpower
力lìstrength

势 and 力 together denote power and strength, hence influence or force.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 勢; 势 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
力力lìpower
Sound part声符shēngfú
埶
埶yì勢shì
Same sound today

The traditional form 勢 combines 力, meaning power, with 埶 for the sound. The simplified 势 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

Open 势 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

力 is drawn as either an arm bending out from the side of the body or a wooden plough.

Open 力 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6Abstract Concepts

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