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有力 (yǒu lì) — powerful; strong; forceful

Definition

有力 is usually a modifier (有力的证据, 有力的措施) — 'strong, forceful' in the sense of impact or effect. 强 covers physical strength or ability, while 强大 is a standalone predicate for whole entities ('a powerful country').

adjective
powerfulstrongforceful
Easily confused

Examples

  • 有力。
    Tā duàn liàn hòu shǒu bì biàn de fēi cháng yǒu lì.
    After working out, his arms have become very powerful.
  • 有力。
    Zhè ge bào gào tí gōng le yǒu lì de zhèng jù.
    This report provides strong evidence.
  • 有力。
    Zhèng fǔ cǎi qǔ le yǒu lì de cuò shī lái jiě jué wèn tí.
    The government has taken forceful measures to solve the problem.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

有yǒuhave
力lìstrength

有 (have) and 力 (strength) combine: having strength, so powerful.

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
肉肉ròumeat
Sound part声符shēngfú
又
又yòu有yǒu
Same sound today

The form 有 combines 又, used for its sound, with a shape from 肉, 'meat'; the hand-holding-meat story is a folk explanation, not shown in the oldest shape.

Open 有 →

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 5Good & Bad

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