浮力 (fú lì) — buoyancy | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

The upward force a fluid exerts on an object in it, letting things float or feel lighter underwater. In everyday talk it's the reason boats stay up and swimmers feel buoyant.

noun

buoyancy

Easily confused

福利fú lìsound-alike(employee) benefits, welfare

Examples

浮力。
Xué xí fú lì duì yóu yǒng hěn yǒu bāng zhù.
Learning about buoyancy is very helpful for swimming.
浮力。
Shuǐ de fú lì ràng chuán fú zài shuǐ shàng.
The buoyancy of water makes the boat float on the water.
浮力。
Qián shuǐ de rén xū yào liǎo jiě fú lì de biàn huà.
Divers need to understand changes in buoyancy.

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.

浮 means float and 力 means force, giving the force that makes something float.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

水水shuǐriver

Sound part声符shēngfú

孚

孚fú浮fú

Same sound today

浮 pairs 水 (river) with 孚, which gives the sound; the river part points to its meaning of floating.

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

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Physics & Chemistry

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