Dong Chinese dictionary

shì

power

Phonosemantic compound. 力 represents the meaning and 埶 represents the sound.

Components

力 Meaning component

lì

power

埶 Sound component

yì

art, skill

勢 and 埶 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar in older Chinese.勢 /*ŋ̊et-s/
埶 /*ŋ̊et-s/, /*ŋet-s (MC I!)/

Evolution

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)

Regular script

Modern

Definitions

势 (勢)

shì

power, force; tendency; power; influence; potential; momentum; trend; situation; conditions; outward appearance; sign; gesture; male genitals

Most common words with 勢

Freq.	Word	Meaning
	优势	superiority
	姿势	posture
	势	power
	形势	circumstances
	趋势	trend

Sources

MTSU Chinese text computing

漢語多功能字庫

Freq.

Word

Meaning