精力
jīnglì · HSK 4
stamina
⚡ 精 = refined essence + 力 = strength; refined strength = vigor
精 originally meant polished/refined rice, extended to essence or vital spirit. 力 depicts a flexed arm or plow, meaning strength. Together: the refined inner strength that powers you through the day — stamina, vigor, spirits.
精 — rice 米 + blue/green 青 (phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound: 米 (rice) gives the meaning, while 青 supplies the sound. Originally referred to polished, refined rice — grain with the husk removed. The sense broadened to 'refined, pure, essence,' and later 'fine, skilled, spirit.'
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'.