人力
rénlì · HSK 5
manpower
💪 人力 = person + power (force/strength of people)
人 (person) plus 力 (power, strength) literally combines to mean human-power — the labor or effort that people supply. Used for manpower, manual labor, or human resources.
人 — pictograph of a standing person
人 is a pictograph showing a person viewed from the side, with two strokes representing the legs and torso of a standing human. In oracle bone script it clearly depicted a figure leaning slightly forward. The meaning has remained 'person' or 'human' throughout its history.
力 — pictograph of a plow or arm muscle
力 originated as a pictograph of an ancient plow, the main tool requiring physical exertion in early agriculture. Some scholars also see it as a flexed arm showing muscle. From this concrete image it broadened to mean 'strength, power, force, effort'.