勠
Character Story & Explanation
勠 is almost exclusively used in the fixed four-character idiom 同心勠力 (tóng xīn lù lì), meaning 'with one heart and joint effort', widely cited in official media, speeches (e.g., by Chinese leaders during pandemic response or poverty alleviation campaigns), and historical texts like the Records of the Grand Historian. It has never been part of the HSK syllabus and appears in fewer than 0.001% of modern written corpus tokens.
The character is a phono-semantic compound: the left radical 力 (lì, 'strength') signals meaning; the right component 虏 (lǔ, 'captive') serves as phonetic. First attested in Han dynasty bronze inscriptions and early commentaries on the Book of Documents, it evolved from archaic military-administrative terminology for coordinated troop mobilization — not a pictograph, but a deliberate scholarly formation.
勠 (lù) is a classical Chinese character meaning 'to join together in effort' — emphasizing unified, concerted action toward a common goal. Unlike generic synonyms like 'cooperate', 勠 carries moral weight and historical gravity, often appearing in formal or literary contexts to evoke collective resolve, especially during national or communal challenges.
This character reflects Confucian and Legalist ideals of harmonious collaboration under shared purpose — not mere coordination, but morally aligned striving. Its rarity in daily speech underscores its elevated register: it appears more in political slogans, historical texts, and ceremonial language than in casual conversation.
In Western cultural equivalents, 勠 resonates with concepts like 'solidarity' (as in labor movements), 'esprit de corps' (military unity), or the Greek 'koinonia' (communal fellowship). Yet it lacks the individualistic framing common in English — there’s no 'I join'; only 'we unite in action'. It implies duty, not choice — closer to the Roman 'concordia' than modern 'teamwork'.
Example Sentences
Common Compounds
Similar Characters — Don't Mix These Up
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