强烈
qiángliè · HSK 3
intense
💪🔥 强 = strong/powerful + 烈 = intense/fierce
强 carries the sense of force or power; 烈 originally referred to a raging fire and now means intense or violent. Together they stack two strength words into one: strongly intense, like a fierce blaze.
强 — bow 弓 + elong 㔾 + insect 虫
Originally written 強, depicting a type of strong-shelled insect or weevil, with 虫 (insect) as semantic and 弘 as phonetic. The meaning shifted from the insect's tough shell to the general sense of 'strong, powerful, forceful.' The form 强 is a common variant where 弘 is replaced by 弓+口.