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武力 (wǔ lì) — military force, armed might

Definition

武力 is the abstract collective 'military force' — a state's armed power or its use, not a single weapon. Compare 武器 (individual weapons) and 暴力 (general, often unlawful violence).

noun
military forcearmed might

Examples

  • ，武力。
    Liǎng guó yìng tōng guò duì huà jiě jué zhēng duān, ér bú shì shǐ yòng wǔ lì.
    The two countries should resolve disputes through dialogue, not by using military force.
  • 武力。
    wǔ lì Wú fǎ cóng gēn běn shàng xiāo chú chóu hèn.
    Military force cannot fundamentally eliminate hatred.
  • 武力。
    Zhè ge dì qū cháng qī shòu dào wǔ lì gān yù de yǐng xiǎng.
    This region has long been affected by military intervention.

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.

武wǔmartial
力lìforce

武 means martial and 力 means force, so it conveys military force.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

武 puts 戈 (dagger-axe) above 止 (foot/to walk), showing an army going on an expedition.

Open 武 →

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 7-9Military & Defense

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