着力
zhuó lì · HSK 7
to put effort into sth
💪 着 (apply) + 力 (strength) = apply your strength = put effort into something
力 is the strength radical, a flexed-arm pictograph. 着力 literally means to apply force, which extends to putting real effort into a task and trying hard.
着 — sheep 羊 (top) + eye 目 (bottom)
着 originated as a variant of 著, which depicted plants emerging visibly above ground (grass radical 艹 over 者). Over time 着 split off to carry meanings like 'attach,' 'wear,' or a verb suffix marking ongoing action (zhe), while 著 kept senses like 'manifest' or 'author.'
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'.