激励 (jī lì) — Chinese Word

verb / noun HSK 5

Traditional 激勵

jī lì

to motivate · to encourage · to inspire · incentive · motivation

Meaning

激励 means to stimulate someone's enthusiasm or determination to achieve a goal. It emphasizes providing encouragement, inspiration, or incentives that push people to take action or improve themselves. The word is commonly used in educational, workplace, and personal development contexts.

Usage

激励 is more formal than everyday encouragement words like 鼓励. It's frequently used in business settings to discuss employee motivation, in education for student encouragement, and in self-help contexts. Native speakers often use it when talking about incentive systems, motivational strategies, or inspiring others to reach higher goals.

Examples

01
老师的话激励了我继续努力学习。
Lǎo shī de huà jī lì le wǒ jì xù nǔ lì xué xí.
The teacher's words motivated me to continue studying hard.
02
公司制定了新的激励政策来提高员工的积极性。
Gōng sī zhì dìng le xīn de jī lì zhèng cè lái tí gāo yuán gōng de jī jí xìng.
The company established new incentive policies to improve employee motivation.

Characters

Measure words

种zhǒng一种激励

Common collocations

激励机制
jī lì jī zhì
incentive mechanism
激励措施
jī lì cuò shī
incentive measures
激励员工
jī lì yuán gōng
to motivate employees
受到激励
shòu dào jī lì
to be motivated/inspired

Antonyms

Origin

Both characters relate to stirring up energy and resolve. 激 originally referred to rushing water hitting rocks, suggesting forceful stimulation. 励 contains the strength radical and conveys the idea of exerting effort and encouraging vigor.