néng liàng
amount of energy
太阳能是一种可再生的能源。
Tàiyángnéng shì yī zhǒng kě zài shēng de néngyuán.
Solar energy is a renewable energy source.
我们需要减少能源消耗。
Wǒmen xūyào jiǎnshǎo néngyuán xiāofèi.
We need to reduce energy consumption.
他正在研究一种新的能源技术。
Tā zhèngzài yánjiū yī zhǒng xīn de néngyuán jìshù.
He is researching a new energy technology.
The Chinese word 能量 (néngliàng) for "energy" is a compound of two characters: 能 (néng) and 量 (liàng). The character 能 originally meant "to be able to" or "to have the ability to do something". It is composed of the radical 力 (lì), which means "strength" or "power", and the phonetic component 壬 (rén), which is a pictograph of a person with two arms raised. The character 量 originally meant "to measure" or "to weigh". It is composed of the radical 斗 (dǒu), which is a pictograph of a measuring container, and the phonetic component 良 (liáng), which is a pictograph of a good person. When these two characters are combined to form 能量, the meaning changes to "energy", which is the ability to do work or to produce a change.
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