人力 meaning in English

rénlì

manpower; labor power

HSK 5noun4 strokes

Meaning of 人力

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

rénlì

manpower
labor power

How to use 人力

人力 is used in formal and workplace contexts to talk about the human labor or staff available for a job, often contrasted with money or materials. It appears in fixed terms like 人力资源 (rénlì zīyuán, human resources). Example: 这个项目需要很多人力。(Zhège xiàngmù xūyào hěn duō rénlì.) This project needs a lot of manpower.

人 (rén) is a person and 力 (lì) is strength or power. Put them together and you get the strength that people provide: manpower.

Common mistake: Learners sometimes use 人力 to mean a single worker, but it refers to labor as a resource, so say 工人 (gōngrén) for an individual worker. Also do not confuse 力 (lì) with 刀 (dāo, knife) or 九 (jiǔ), which look similar.

人力 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

由yóu于yú人rén力lì不bù足zú，我wǒ们men需xū要yào比bǐ预yù期qī更gèng多duō的de时shí间jiān来lái承chéng担dān这zhè项xiàng任rèn务wù。

Due to lack of manpower, we need more time than expected to handle this task.

如rú果guǒ人rén们men使shǐ用yòng这zhè些xiē现xiàn代dài化huà的de机jī器qì, 那nà将jiāng节jié省shěng很hěn多duō人rén力lì。

If you use this modern equipment, it will save a lot of manpower.

机jī械xiè力lì代dài替tì人rén力lì, 这zhè是shì蒸zhēng汽qì机jī发fā明míng的de结jié果guǒ。

The result of the invention of the steam engine was that human power was replaced by mechanical power.

我wǒ们men需xū要yào人rén力lì仲zhòng介jiè公gōng司sī帮bāng我wǒ们men找zhǎo到dào合hé适shì的de人rén来lái担dān任rèn这zhè个ge管guǎn理lǐ职zhí位wèi。

We'll need a head hunting agency to find the right man for this executive position.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

人 rén · person · 2 strokes

力 lì · power · 2 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 人力.

女人	nǚrén	woman
男人	nánrén	a man; a male
别人	biérén	other people; others; other person
家人	jiārén	family member; (old) servant
病人	bìngrén	sick person; patient
工人	gōngrén	worker
老人	lǎorén	old man or woman; the elderly
有人	yǒu rén	someone; people
人们	rénmen	people
努力	nǔlì	to make an effort; to try hard; to strive; hard-working; conscientious
大人	dàren	adult; grownup
客人	kèrén	visitor; guest; customer

Questions about 人力

What does 人力 mean?

人力 (rénlì) means "manpower; labor power" and is used as a noun.

How do you write 人力?

人力 is made of 2 characters: 人 (2 strokes), 力 (2 strokes). That is 4 strokes in total.

Is 人力 an HSK word?

Yes. 人力 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

What does 人力资源 mean?

人力资源 (rénlì zīyuán) means human resources. It is the standard term for the HR department or HR as a field, often shortened to 人资 or simply called HR in offices.

Is 人力 the same as 人手?

They overlap but differ in tone. 人手 (rénshǒu) is more casual and means hands or helpers, as in 人手不够 (not enough hands), while 人力 is more formal and treats labor as a resource to plan and allocate.