重力 (zhòng lì) — gravity | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

gravity

重力。
zhòng lì Shì wù lǐ xué zhōng fēi cháng zhòng yào de gài niàn.
Gravity is a very important concept in physics.
重力。
Dì qiú shàng de wù tǐ dōu huì shòu dào zhòng lì de zuò yòng.
All objects on Earth are affected by gravity.
，重力。
Zài tài kōng zhōng, rén men gǎn jué bú dào zhòng lì.
In space, people can't feel gravity.

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.

重 means heavy or weight and 力 means force, so the word names the force of weight.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

東

東dōng重zhòng

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

重 developed from a picture of a man carrying a bag, with 人 for the man and 東 for the bag; a later ground element was folded into the form.

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