Making sense of the word 'Power'

[rideforever]

What are the different uses of these four words? The dictionary lists them as synonyms and I thought I understood them but I recently got slated on an exam because I obviously didn't! Can anybody help me make five sentences that clearly differeniates between them? (Even the Chinese teacher couldn't do that!)

力量 (n) power, force strength (your physcial strength)

力道 (n) power, force, efficacy (your inner strength)

力氣 power (this one is countable with 把) (your physcial strength)

實力 (n) strength, effort (great power/strength referring to nations/companies etc…)

權利 (n) power, right, privelege (strength of a governing body with emphasis on right)

Ideas???

[L-F-J]

I read them like this:

力量 'strength'

力道 'efficacy'

力气 'energy'

实力 'practical' strength

权利/权力 'right' or 'authority'

[skylee]

权利 ≠ 权力 (traditional 權利 ≠ 權力)

[Kenny同志]

力量 is polysemous.

It means

physical strength in

鍛煉手臂的力量;

force in

他這一拳打來力量著實不小;

force or men in

動員各界的力量,

中堅力量；

and power in

軍事力量

知識的力量

力道 is polysemous. It means force in 這一掌力道好大.

力氣 is the physical strength of a man or an animal.

實力 is the power, strength, or ability in the form of many things that can help the possessor to achieve something. These things include but not are not limited to learning, professional skills, wealth, connections（人脈）, or influence (for a person); money, quality of staff, equipment, or connections (for a company); culture, science, technology, economy, or military capacity (for a country)

Example sentences:

他有實力考上武漢大學。（Here his 實力 comes from his learning and talent, and perhaps something else）

微軟的研發實力非常強。(Here Microsoft’s 實力 would come from its IT scientists and equipment)

中國有實力在二十年內獨立建造航母。（Here China’s 實力 comes from its money and technology）

權力 is the power that comes with a position or duty.

權利 are legal rights and interests

[rideforever]

Thanks to everyone for their answers, particularly to Kenny2006woo for really laying it down. That answer especially helped me grasp the use of 實力　So here is my confusion. Given that there is so many synonyms for power/strength in Chinese how are they interchangeable? For example, 力氣 and 力道 and 力量. Is it like synonyms for 'good' in English where very subtle variances in their situational use help to clarify?

[L-F-J]

权利 ≠ 权力 (traditional 權利 ≠ 權力)

Right, I was just adding the other one for reference because it is similar, and actually uses the 力 character. Both can be translated as 'power' in English, but their meanings are closer to:

权利/权力 'right' or 'authority'

The second being 'power' or 'authority' is closer to the common meaning of 力 in the other words than the first one, being 'right' or 'privilege'.

[Kenny同志]

力氣 specifically refers to the physical strength of a man or an animal. Remember these sentences:

他力氣很大（小）。

我餓得沒力氣了。

他有的是力氣。

It often can’t be replaced by 力量 or 力道.

One of the meanings of 力道 is the force with which something moves, such as your palm, fist, arm, leg, or weapons like swords, sabres, or poles. It’s often used as a term of martial arts and can be replaced by力量, but somehow I prefer the former. Since its other meanings are infrequent fully grasping this usage would usually suffice.

The case of 力量 is a bit complex. It can refer to the physical strength of a man or an animal but in many cases it is not interchangeable with 力氣. For example, 他力氣很大 is perfectly fine whereas 他力量很大 would sound bad and even odd. The differences are subtle. The most obvious is perhaps that 力量 is formal and technical and 力氣 is not. Compare 鍛煉手臂的力量 with 鍛煉手臂的力氣, and 我渾身充滿了力量 with 我渾身充滿了力氣(all sentences are correct).

The meaning of 力量 is pretty broad. Apart from physical strength, it also can refer to the force with which something moves. Its other meanings are easy to distinguish from that of the other two words.

[tooironic]

Love these kind of posts. Very useful.

How about 勢力?

[Kenny同志]

勢力 is the power of a mafia don, a gang, a warlord, or a country. For the first two, it comes from the money, weapons and men they have. For the last two, it comes from their money and military power.