耐力 (nài lì) — endurance, stamina | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

endurancestamina

耐力。
Pǎo mǎ lā sōng xū yào hěn dà de nài lì.
Running a marathon requires great endurance.
耐力，。
Tā de nài lì hěn hǎo, kě yǐ lián xù gōng zuò shí gè xiǎo shí.
He has excellent stamina — he can work for ten hours straight.
耐力。
Xué xí wài yǔ xū yào nài xīn hé nài lì.
Learning a foreign language requires patience and endurance.

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.

耐 means to endure and 力 means power or ability; together they mean the power to endure.

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.

而寸耐

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

而

而ér耐nài

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

耐 puts 而 on the left and 寸 on the right: 而 gives the sound, and 寸 gives the sense.

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