齐心协力
qí xīn xié lì · HSK 7
to work with a common purpose
🤝 齐心 = unite hearts + 协力 = combine strength: many hands, one effort
Breaks into 齐心 (qí xīn, hearts aligned/even) plus 协力 (xié lì, joined force). 协 itself stacks three 力 (strength) under one roof, so the character literally bundles efforts together. The whole idiom: everyone rowing the same direction.
齐 — pictograph of grain ears growing evenly (齊)
齐 is the simplified form of 齊, originally a pictograph showing three stalks of grain rising to the same height. From this image of even, level tops came the core meanings 'equal,' 'uniform,' and 'together.' It later extended to 'neat,' 'arranged,' and 'all at once.'
心 — pictograph of a heart with chambers and aorta
心 is a pictograph showing a stylized heart, with strokes representing the organ's chambers and the aorta at the top. Originally meaning the physical heart, it broadened to cover mind, feelings, and intentions, since ancient Chinese thought located thinking and emotion in the heart.
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'.