凌厉 (líng lì) — swift and fierce; relentless; sharp and powerful

Definition

凌厉 describes something sharp, forceful, and hard to resist — typically an attack, gaze, or wind. It carries a sense of intimidating speed and power, not just strength.

adjective
swift and fiercerelentlesssharp and powerful
Easily confused

Examples

  • 凌厉，。
    Duì fāng de gōng shì shí fēn líng lì, wǒ men hěn nán fáng shǒu.
    The opponent's attack was very swift and fierce; we had difficulty defending.
  • 凌厉。
    Tā líng lì de mù guāng ràng rén bù gǎn zhí shì.
    His sharp and fierce gaze made people afraid to look directly at him.
  • 凌厉。
    Hán fēng líng lì dì chuī guò kōng kuàng de tián yě.
    The bitter wind blew fiercely across the empty fields.

Origin

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
冫Written in full as仌bīngice
Sound part声符shēngfú
夌
夌líng凌líng
Same sound today

In 凌, the left part 冫 relates to ice, while the right part 夌 gives the pronunciation.

Open 凌 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 厲; 厉 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
厂厂chǎng
Sound part声符shēngfú
蠆
蠆chài厲lì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 厲 uses 厂 for meaning and 蠆 for sound; 厉 is not the form whose parts are being described.

Open 厉 →

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