电力
diànlì · HSK 6
electrical power
⚡ 电力 = 电 (electric) + 力 (force/power)
Compound decomposition: 电 means electric/electricity and 力 means force or power. Together they literally spell out electrical force — i.e. electric power or electricity as a usable energy.
电 — rain 雨 + lightning tail 电
Originally a pictograph of lightning streaking from a cloud, written 電 with the rain radical 雨 on top. The bottom 电 depicts the zigzag flash itself. The simplified form 电 drops 雨 and keeps just the lightning shape. Meaning extended from 'lightning' to 'electricity' in modern usage.
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'.