Ladies and girls, have you ever dreamed of becoming a PowerPuff girl one day? Gentlemen and boys, have you ever daydreamed that you might dress up in that blue and red tight spandex super suit and fly heroically to the sky? If so, maybe this is your post today.
Mandarin – How to say “The boy fantasized that he was a superman who had the power of flight. 那个男孩幻想自己是个有飞行能力的超人。 Na4 ge5 nan3 hai2 huan4 xiang3 zi4 ji3 shi4 ge5 you3 fei1 xing2 neng2 li4 de5 chao1 ren2.
Na4 (那 pronoun, that) ge5 (个 measure word for person) nan3 (男 adjective, male) hai2 (孩 noun, child) huan4 xiang3 (幻想 verb, fantasize) zi4 ji3 (自己 zi4 and ji3 are words of similar meaning — all mean self; so it is a compound phrase – self) shi4 (是 verb, is) ge5 (个 measure word for person) you3 (有 verb, have) fei1 xing2 (飞行 fei1 xing2 mean flight or flying, original is used as noun or verb, but here functions as attribute to modify 能力 neng2 li4) neng2 li4 (能力 compound phrase means ability) de5 (的 particle to connect attribute and the noun it modifies) chao1 ren2 (超人 superman, noun).
Why do people desire to possess power （力量, li4 liang4）? Some people say that the need to acquire power is rooted on insecurity （不安全, bu4 an1 quan2） and weakness (微弱, wei2 ruo4)； that is to say: fear （恐惧, kong3 ju4） is the core of wanting to be superior (優越, you1 yue3) and dominate (主宰, zhu3 zhai3) others.
Aspiring (立志, li4 zhi4) to be powerful (強大的, qiang2 da4 de5) is a natural (自然的, zi4 ran2 de5） human behavior. Is it good or bad to have the desire to obtain power? Speaking from the bright side, getting power is a necessity for a human to better themselves and to stay strong and undefeated. Study showed that when people feel powerful in their roles, they may be less likely to make on-the-job errors （cuo4 wu4, 错误） and perform better on their task （任务, ren4 wu4）. The bad thing about possessing power is: Power will corrupt （腐敗, fu3 bai4）; “power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely” (John Dalberg-Acton).
Nothing is absolutely bad, so the desire for power is not necessarily evil (邪恶，xie2 e4) either. Naturally, everyone wants to lead a better life. However, the resources of our planet is limited; it is important that all people share. Getting power is not a repulsive deed as long as people can control themselves. So, here goes 老子 Lao Tzu’s famous quote: “He who controls （控制, kong4 zhi4） others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still.” With more self control and respect toward others, human beings will bring humility and peace to this not so peaceful world.
There are many types of powers people aspire to have, the boy aspires to have
The power of flight
飞行能力
fei1 xing2 de5 neng2 li4
Most of time power is translated as 力量 li4 liang4, however in this phrase, it would be better to translate it as 能力 neng2 li4, instead of li4 liang3. For li4 liang4 is more to do with strength, and here the power of flying is more related to capability; thus, I translated it as neng2 li4.
There are some significant power phrases that you might want to know:
The power of love
爱的力量
ai4 de5 li4 liang4
The power of religion
宗教的力量
zong1 jiao4 de5 li4 liang4
The power of belief
xin4 yang3 de5 li4 liang4
信仰的力量
The power of temptation
诱惑的力量
you4 hou4 de5 li4 liang4
What you think is the most important power in this world? It can be very abstract (抽象chou1 xiang4) like the power of love or the power of imagination, or very concrete (具體, ju4 ti3) one, like the power of tornado (龙卷风，long2 juan3 feng1）. See, there is a dragon in the tornado:) it means this kind of wind is very powerful, like the dragon is spinning it around and around and around …
I wish in this new Dragon Year, your power of learning Chinese (xue2 zhong1 wen2 de5 li4 liang4 学中文的力量) will increase, your sense of frustration will decline, and you will have more joyful adventure and harvest in the beauty of Chinese. May the force be with you or may the 力量 li4 liang4 be with you.
Let’s listen to this wonderful song:)
Five For Fighting – Superman (Lyrics)
Show Luo 罗志祥 Luo Zhixiang — Li Liang / 力量 / Strength (Live)
Sometimes li liang can be translated as strength. It can mean physical strength, or certain strength like Math strength, drug strength, etc..