Force Radical (力) — Characters, Meaning and Practice Worksheet
力 is the force radical. It appears in 28 of the most common Chinese characters — these 12 are the ones worth learning first, and the worksheet below gives every one of them a pinyin header, a stroke-by-stroke model and blank Tianzige grids to copy into.
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What does 力 mean?
Force radical · 力 lì · 2 strokes · force, strength
It usually appears on the left or the right of the character. The Origin column below shows what each character's parts do — many take their meaning from the radical, some take their sound from the other half.
Shapes: 力
力 itself: A plow's head representing strength
12 common characters with 力
Ranked by how often they appear in real written Chinese. Every character links to its own page with a stroke-order animation and example words.
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 为 | wèi | [introducing purpose, reason, beneficiary, etc.] for, because of | |
| 动 | dòng | move; arouse; change; use | strength |
| 加 | jiā | add, increase; put in | Supporting a cause with the strength 力 of one's words 口 |
| 边 | biān | side; edge | 臱 supplies the sound |
| 办 | bàn | do | 八 supplies the sound |
| 务 | wù | affair; business; matter; to be engaged in; to attend to; by all means | |
| 历 | lì | to experience | 力 supplies the sound |
| 男 | nán | male, man | Someone who can work 力 the farm 田 |
| 功 | gōng | merit, achievement; skill | Results produced by capable 力 labor 工; 工 also provides the pronunciation |
| 势 | shì | power, influence; momentum, tendency; situation | 执 supplies the sound |
| 另 | lìng | other, another | |
| 助 | zhù | help, aid, assist | 且 supplies the sound |
Related Radicals
- 冫Ice radical · bīng14 common characters · ice; cold
- 几Table radical · jī12 common characters · a small table
- 刂Knife radical · dāo38 common characters · knife, blade
- 匕Dagger radical · bǐ11 common characters · spoon; dagger
- 十Ten radical · shí33 common characters · ten; a cross shape
- 卜Divination radical · bǔ9 common characters · divination; forecasting
Create Your Own Chinese Worksheet
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