Meaning of 势力
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- power
- influence
- a force (military, political etc)
How to use 势力
势力 usually refers to a group or faction that holds influence, often in politics, the military, or society. It often has a slightly negative or neutral tone, as in 黑社会势力 (organized crime forces). Example: 这个家族在当地很有势力。(Zhège jiāzú zài dāngdì hěn yǒu shìlì.) This family has a lot of influence locally.
势 (shì) means momentum or a dominant position, and 力 (lì) means strength. Put a strong position together with real strength and you get a group's power and influence.
Common mistake: Learners often use 势力 when they mean personal strength or ability, which should be 力量 (lìliàng) or 能力 (nénglì). Also note that 势 has 力 at the bottom, so do not confuse it with 热 (rè, hot), which ends in four dots.
势力 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
势 shì · power · 8 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
力 lì · power · 2 strokes
- 1
- 2
Related words
Words that share a character with 势力.
| 努力 | nǔlì | to make an effort; to try hard; to strive; hard-working; conscientious |
| 力量 | lìliàng | power; force; strength |
| 能力 | nénglì | capability; ability |
| 压力 | yālì | pressure |
| 优势 | yōushì | superiority; dominance |
| 动力 | dònglì | motive power; (fig.) motivation; impetus |
| 实力 | shílì | strength |
| 听力 | tīnglì | hearing; listening ability |
| 巧克力 | qiǎokèlì | (loanword) chocolate |
| 尽力 | jìnlì | to strive one's hardest; to spare no effort |
| 力气 | lìqi | physical strength |
| 精力 | jīnglì | energy (physical or mental) |
Questions about 势力
What does 势力 mean?
势力 (shìlì) means "power; influence" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 势力?
势力 is made of 2 characters: 势 (8 strokes), 力 (2 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.
Is 势力 an HSK word?
Yes. 势力 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 势力 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 势力 is written 勢力.
What does 势利 mean, and is it the same as 势力?
No. 势利 (shìlì) sounds the same but means snobbish, judging people by wealth or status, as in 势利眼 (a snob). 势力 is a noun meaning power or influence.
Is the second syllable of 势力 pronounced with a neutral tone?
Dictionaries often list it as shìli with a light second syllable, and that is common in everyday speech. Saying shìlì with a full fourth tone is also widely heard and understood.