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震撼力 (zhèn hàn lì) — power to shock and awe; striking impact; forceful impression

Definition

A noun meaning the 'shocking, awe-inspiring impact' of something (a film, speech, work of art) on an audience. Used for a strong, lingering emotional impression — stronger and more visceral than 影响力 or 感染力.

noun
power to shock and awestriking impactforceful impression

Examples

  • 震撼力。
    Zhè bù yǐng piàn de zhèn hàn lì ràng suǒ yǒu guān zhòng shēn shòu gǎn dòng.
    The film's striking impact deeply moved all the viewers.
  • 震撼力，。
    Tā de yǎn jiǎng chōng mǎn zhèn hàn lì, lìng rén nán wàng.
    His speech was full of forceful power, making it unforgettable.
  • 震撼力。
    Zhè zuò diāo xiàng de yì shù zhèn hàn lì chāo yuè le shí dài.
    The artistic impact of this statue transcends its era.

Origin

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.

震撼shake
震zhènshake撼hànshake
联合Coordinate
力lìpower

震 and 撼 both convey shaking, while 力 gives power, so the word means the force to shock.

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
雨雨yǔ
Sound part声符shēngfú
辰
辰chén震zhèn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

震 combines 雨 (rain) with 辰 (chén), which gives the sound; 雨 is the part associated with the character’s meaning.

Open 震 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 撼 →

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
Abstract Concepts

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