What 力 means
Strength; the surrounding word sets the exact sense. Japanese uses 力 for physical power but also capacity and influence. Korean words such as 실력 carry it as a hanja (Chinese-character) root even when written in Hangul.
Its forms trace back to oracle-bone inscriptions, ancient Chinese divination texts on bone and shell, then bronze and small-seal script. The early shape is usually read as a plow, linking farm labour to force.
What it means when someone sends it to you
2 readingsJapanese request: 力を貸して
Help me, or lend me a hand — not a request for muscle.
Korean message containing 실력
Ability or skill; 力 is the hidden hanja root.
Don't confuse it with
1Questions people ask
1Why does 力 look different in another font?
It's the same character. Fonts vary its hook, angles, and proportions without changing what you typed.
How to type 力
Windows (Word)
Alt+XType 529B, then Alt+X to get 力.
Windows
Win+Rrun charmap for the full table, or use the emoji picker's Ω symbols tab (Win + .).
macOS
Control+Command+SpaceOpen the character viewer and search “cjk unified ideograph-529b”.
Linux
Ctrl+Shift+UType 529b, then Enter or Space.
HTML
力CSS
\529BCodes and encoding1 code points
HTML decimal
力
HTML hex
力
CSS content
content: "\529B";
Each escape is closed by the next backslash; a trailing space is needed before a literal hex digit.
URL encoded
%E5%8A%9B
1
On screen
1
Code points
1
JS .length
3
UTF-8 bytes
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.