1.
human power, manpower, manual labor
Physical power or effort provided by people rather than machines. Refers to tasks accomplished through human effort alone.
人力で運んだ。
It was carried by manpower.
機械がない時代は全て人力に頼っていた。
In the era before machines, everything relied on human power.
この大きな石を人力だけで動かすのは不可能に近い。
Moving this large stone by human power alone is nearly impossible.
Compound of 人 (person) + 力 (power). Often contrasted with 機械の力 (machine power).
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 人力で (by manpower, manually)
- 人力に頼る (to rely on human power)
- 人力車 (rickshaw — literally "human-powered vehicle")
- 人力飛行機 (human-powered aircraft)
USAGE NOTES:
人力車 (rickshaw) is a well-known compound. In modern usage, 人力 often appears when emphasizing that something is done without mechanical assistance. The word 人手 is more common in everyday language when talking about labor or manpower in a workforce sense.