Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

力 (radical 19 力+0, 2 strokes, cangjie input 大尸 (KS), four-corner 4002₇)

1. Kangxi radical #19, ⼒ ‎(“power”).

Derived characters

• Index:Chinese radical/力
• 男 另

Descendants

• ㄌ

See also

• カ (Japanese katakana)

References

• KangXi: page 146, character 5
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 2288
• Dae Jaweon: page 327, character 31
• Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 1, page 364, character 4
• Unihan data for U+529B

Chinese

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 力
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Bamboo and silk script	Large seal script	Small seal script

Pictogram (象形) – alternative interpretation, either an arm bending out from the side of the body, or a plough.

Pronunciation

Definitions

力

1. force, strength, power

   力量  ―  lìliàng  ―  power

   攻擊力 / 攻击力  ―  gōngjīlì  ―  firepower

   她個子雖小但力大驚人。 [MSC, trad.]

   她个子虽小但力大惊人。 [MSC, simp.]

   Tā gèzǐ suī xiǎo dàn lì dà jīngrén. [Pinyin]

   For a small woman she has surprising strength.

2. strong, strenuous

   努力  ―  nǔlì  ―  hard-working

3. power, energy

   汽力  ―  qìlì  ―  steam power

4. ability

   能力  ―  nénglì  ―  ability

   他對古董很有鑑賞力。 [MSC, trad.]

   他对古董很有鉴赏力。 [MSC, simp.]

   Tā duì gǔdǒng hěn yǒu jiànshǎng lì. [Pinyin]

   He has an eye for antiques.

5. (physics) force

   這個力的方向與位移相同。 [MSC, trad.]

   这个力的方向与位移相同。 [MSC, simp.]

   Zhè ge lì de fāngxiàng yǔ wèiyí xiāngtóng. [Pinyin]

   This force is the same direction as the displacement.

Compounds

Japanese

Kanji

(grade 1 “Kyōiku” kanji)

1. power, force, strength

Readings

• Goon: りき (riki)
• Kan’on: りょく (ryoku)
• Kun: ちから (chikara), りき-む (力む, riki-mu)
• Nanori: いさお (isao), いさむ (isamu), お (o), か (ka), ちか (chika), ちから (chikara), じから (jikara), つとむ (tsutomu), よし (yoshi)

Etymology 1

From Old Japanese. Compound of Old Japanese elements 霊 ‎(chi, “power, life force, essence”) +‎ から ‎(kara, “from”).

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• (Tokyo) ちから​ [chìkáráꜜ] (Odaka - [3])^[1][2]
• IPA^(key): [t͡ɕi̥ka̠ɾ̠a̠]

Noun

力 ‎(hiragana ちから, romaji chikara)

1. strength; power; force
2. (physics) force
3. ability; capacity
4. effort
5. (tarot): Strength

Derived terms

Proper noun

力 ‎(hiragana ちから, romaji Chikara)

1. A male given name

Etymology 2

From Middle Chinese 力 ‎(lik). The goon reading, so likely the initial borrowing. Compare modern Cantonese reading lik⁶.

Pronunciation

• On'yomi: Goon
• (Tokyo) り​き [ríꜜkì] (Atamadaka - [1])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [ɾikʲi]

Affix

力 ‎(hiragana りき, romaji riki)

1. power, strength

   力 (りき)学 (がく)、力 (りき)士 (し)、二馬 (にば)力 (りき)

   rikigaku, rikishi, nibariki

   “power studies” (dynamics), “strength person” (sumo wrestler), two horsepower

Noun

力 ‎(hiragana りき, romaji riki)

1. physical strength
2. (Buddhism) capability, especially mystical power
3. (Buddhism) the suchness of ability, one of the Ten Suchnesses in Mahayana Buddhism
4. short for 力者 ‎(rikisha): a strong person
5. (archaic) short for 車力 ‎(shariki), 力車 ‎(rikisha): a rickshaw
6. (archaic) a rickshaw operator's wages

Derived terms

Etymology 3

From Middle Chinese 力, but apparently from a different source dialect or at a different time than 力 ‎(lik). The kan'on reading, so likely a later borrowing. Compare reconstructed Middle Chinese reading /li̯ək/ or Korean reading ryeok.

Only found in compounds and idioms in modern Japanese.

Pronunciation

• On'yomi: Kan'on
• IPA^(key): [rjo̞kɯᵝ]

Affix

力 ‎(hiragana りょく, romaji ryoku)

1. strength, power

   力 (りょく)争 (そう)、権 (けん)力 (りょく)

   ryokusō, kenryoku

   “strength struggle” (a hard fight), “right power” (authority)

Derived terms

References

1. 1 2 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9
2. ↑ 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, ISBN 978-4-14-011112-3

Korean

Noun

力 • ‎(yeog, ryeog) ‎(hangeul 력)

1. strength, power

Hanja

力 • ‎(ryeok) (hangeul 력, McCune-Reischauer ryŏk)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Compounds

• 魔力 마력 ‎(maryeok)

Vietnamese

Han character

力 (lực, sức, sực, sựt)

1. Hán tự form of lực, “physical force”