力不从心
lì bù cóng xīn · HSK 7
the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak
💪💔 力 strength + 不 not + 从 follow + 心 heart = strength fails to follow the heart's wish
Character by character: the heart (心) wants something, but the strength (力) does not (不) follow (从) it. The will is there, the power is not — you are less capable than you wish to be.
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'.
不 — single pictograph; bird flying upward
Originally a pictograph in oracle bone script, traditionally interpreted as a bird flying up toward the sky and unable to come down, suggesting negation or refusal. Over time it became the standard negation word in Chinese, used before verbs and adjectives to mean 'not'.
从 — two 人 (person) figures, one following the other
从 is a pictographic compound showing one person walking behind another, vividly depicting the act of following. The original meaning 'to follow' was extended to 'from' (the starting point one follows out of) and 'to obey'. The traditional form 從 added 辵 (movement) and 止 (foot) to reinforce the walking sense.
心 — pictograph of a heart with chambers and aorta
心 is a pictograph showing a stylized heart, with strokes representing the organ's chambers and the aorta at the top. Originally meaning the physical heart, it broadened to cover mind, feelings, and intentions, since ancient Chinese thought located thinking and emotion in the heart.