TongTong
Sign in

功力 (gōng lì) — efficacy; effectiveness (of a medicine, method, or practice); skill; competence; power (of a person's ability, especially after long training)

Definition

功力 stresses skill or efficacy built up through long, hard training — closer to 功效 ("efficacy" of a remedy/method) when applied to practice, and to 才干 ("competence") when applied to a person, but specifically the depth that years of effort produce.

noun
efficacyeffectiveness (of a medicine, method, or practice)skillcompetencepower (of a person's ability, especially after long training)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 功力。
    Zhè zhǒng yào de gōng lì hái xū yào lín chuáng shì yàn lái yàn zhèng.
    The efficacy of this medicine still needs to be verified through clinical trials.
  • ，功力。
    Tā liàn le sān shí nián shū fǎ, gōng lì fēi cháng shēn hòu.
    He has practiced calligraphy for thirty years, and his skill is very profound.
  • 功力。
    Zhè wèi wǔ shù dà shī de gōng lì lìng rén jìng pèi.
    This martial arts master's power is admirable.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

功gōngmerit; skill
力lìpower

功 and 力 combine related senses, skill or merit with power, to express effectiveness or trained competence.

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
力力lìstrength
Sound part声符shēngfú
工
工gōng功gōng
Same sound today

功 puts 力 (strength) beside 工, which gives the sound gōng and means labour or work.

Open 功 →

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 7-9Abstract Concepts

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.