毅力
yì lì · HSK 7
perseverance
💪 毅力 = 毅 resolute + 力 strength; the firmness to push on
力 (lì) is the strength radical, the same 力 in 力气 (physical power); 毅 means resolute or unwavering. Stack them and you get the steady strength that keeps going long after the easy energy runs out.
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'.