想像力 (xiǎng xiàng lì) — imagination | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

imagination

Examples

想像力。
Fēng fù de xiǎng xiàng lì duì chuàng zuò fēi cháng zhòng yào.
A rich imagination is very important for creative work.
想像力。
Lǎo shī gǔ lì xué shēng péi yǎng zì jǐ de xiǎng xiàng lì.
The teacher encourages students to cultivate their own imagination.
想像力。
Quē fá xiǎng xiàng lì huì yǐng xiǎng jiě jué wèn tí de néng lì.
Lack of imagination can affect the ability to solve problems.

Origin

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.

相心想

Meaning part形符xíngfú

心心xīnheart, mind

Sound part声符shēngfú

相

相xiāng想xiǎng

Same sound today

想 has 心 (heart, mind) below 相 (to look at); the shape shows the mind looking at or considering something, and 相 also gives the sound.

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

亻象像

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rénperson

Sound part声符shēngfú

象

Same sound today

像 uses 亻, the side form of 人 (person), with 象 giving the sound.

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.

Appears in

Thinking & Cognition

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