The Chinese symbol for strength — 力 (lì)
The character usually sold as "strength" is 力 (lì), and what it actually means is force — the measurable, physical kind, and the effort you put into a job. It says nothing about strength of character.
At a glance
- Character
- 力 full dictionary entry
- Pinyin
- lì
- Literal meaning
- Physical force; power
- Dictionary senses
- Strength (force - power) From the same dictionary as our translator.
Stroke order
What 力 means
Where the character comes from
力 is one of the oldest shapes in the script. The bone-script form is a digging tool or plough seen from the side, with the crossbar you push against; the modern character is still just two strokes. It is radical 19, so it turns up inside hundreds of characters that have to do with exertion.
How it is actually used
力 almost never stands alone in modern Chinese. It lives inside words: 力量 is strength or power, 努力 is to make an effort, 能力 is ability, 体力 is physical stamina — and 压力 is pressure, which in everyday speech means stress.
What 力 does not mean
It does not mean inner strength, strength of character, willpower or resilience. Chinese has separate words for every one of those — 毅力 for willpower, 坚强 for being strong in the face of difficulty — and none of them is 力 on its own.
Claims you will meet elsewhere
"力 means inner strength or strength of spirit."
It means mechanical force. The two commonest words built on it are 压力 (pressure, stress) and 暴力 (violence). Nothing about the character comments on the person.
"力 on its own reads as a one-word statement of strength."
To a Chinese reader a lone 力 reads more like a label on a physics diagram than a motto — it is a bound morpheme waiting for its second syllable. 力量 is the noun you would actually write.
"力 means strong."
强 is the adjective. 力 is the noun-ish force; 强 is what you call a person or a country that is strong.
For the general version of this problem — why a machine translation of a single word so often reads as confident nonsense — see Why AI Translators Guess.
The character in different scripts
简体
繁體
力 is identical in simplified and traditional Chinese and has barely changed in three thousand years — two strokes, written the same way in every script from the seal forms onward. Because it is so simple, a calligraphic rendering shows the brush work and nothing else; a "Chinese font" will normally give you the 楷书 regular-script shape you see here.
The words 力 lives in
This is the part a symbol list leaves out, and it is the fastest way to feel what a character actually carries. Readings and meanings come from the same dictionary that powers the translator; tap any word for its full dictionary entry.
Other ways to say strength
力 is one answer, not the answer. Which of these is right depends on what you mean by "strength" — and that is usually the question worth settling before anything is written down permanently.
The adjective. 坚强 is strong in the face of hardship, 富强 is a prosperous and strong nation. If you mean a person is strong, this is the character behind it.
Willpower and staying power — the "inner strength" 力 alone does not carry.
The ordinary noun. If you want two characters that simply read as "strength" to any Chinese reader, this is the phrase.
力 — frequently asked questions
What is the Chinese symbol for strength?
The character usually sold as "strength" is 力 (lì), and what it actually means is force — the measurable, physical kind, and the effort you put into a job. It says nothing about strength of character. It is written 力 and pronounced lì.
What does 力 not mean?
It does not mean inner strength, strength of character, willpower or resilience. Chinese has separate words for every one of those — 毅力 for willpower, 坚强 for being strong in the face of difficulty — and none of them is 力 on its own.
Is 力 commonly mistranslated?
Yes. The claim you will meet most often is: "力 means inner strength or strength of spirit." It means mechanical force. The two commonest words built on it are 压力 (pressure, stress) and 暴力 (violence). Nothing about the character comments on the person. This page lists 3 such claims about 力 with what is true instead.
Is 力 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
力 is identical in simplified and traditional Chinese and has barely changed in three thousand years — two strokes, written the same way in every script from the seal forms onward. Because it is so simple, a calligraphic rendering shows the brush work and nothing else; a "Chinese font" will normally give you the 楷书 regular-script shape you see here.
What else can I use for strength in Chinese?
Depending on what you mean: 强, 毅力, 力量. This page explains when each one is the right choice, and 力 itself lives in words such as 力量, 努力, 能力.
Concepts that get confused with this one
Keep going
Check any wording of your own in the Chinese to English translator before it goes anywhere permanent, look 力 up in full in the dictionary, learn the components it is built from in the Chinese Radicals guide, see it used in real sentences in the example sentence bank, or read Why AI Translators Guess for why single-word translation is the hardest kind.