阻力
zǔlì · HSK 7
resistance
🧱 阻 block + 力 force = a blocking force, i.e. resistance or drag
Two characters stack into the meaning: 阻 means to block or hinder, and 力 means force or strength. Together they name the blocking force that pushes back against motion — resistance, drag, or an impediment.
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'.