想象力 (xiǎng xiàng lì) — imagination | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

imagination

Examples

想象力，。
Tā de xiǎng xiàng lì fēi cháng fēng fù, zǒng néng xiǎng chū xīn xiān de zhǔ yì.
Her imagination is very rich; she can always come up with fresh ideas.
想象力。
Xiě xiǎo shuō xū yào hěn qiáng de xiǎng xiàng lì.
Writing novels requires a strong imagination.
想象力。
Ér tóng de xiǎng xiàng lì bǐ dà rén gèng qiáng.
Children's imagination is stronger than adults'.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

想象imagine

想xiǎngthink象xiàngimage

动宾Verb + object

想象 names forming mental images, and 力 adds the power of doing so.

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.

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

象 is drawn as an elephant, with a long trunk, a head, and a big body.

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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