给力
gěi lì · HSK 6
awesome
💪 给 = give + 力 = power; literally 'gives power' = awesome/helpful
Modern slang from internet culture: when something 给力 it 'delivers strength' — it pulls its weight, comes through, impresses. Opposite is 不给力 (unimpressive, lame).
给 — silk radical 纟 + 合 (combine)
Originally a phono-semantic compound: 纟 (silk) hinted at the meaning of joining threads tightly, while 合 ('combine, join') gave the sound. The early sense was 'supply' or 'provide,' which extended naturally to 'give.' In modern Mandarin it splits into gěi ('give') and jǐ ('supply').
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'.