Strength and force with 強

Kanjipedia, citing 『角川新字源 改訂新版』, analyzes 強 as a phono-semantic compound: 虫 supplies the semantic element and 弘 supplies the sound. The same account says that the character originally denoted a grain insect and was later used in the sense of 彊, strong. This is a published dictionary analysis, not a settled paleographic conclusion. 漢字ペディア, 強

The Shuowen tradition gives the short gloss 強, 蚚也。从虫, 弘聲, and records 𧖑 as a 籒文 form made from 䖵 and 彊. The accompanying Xu Kai note questions the analysis, saying that 弘 and 強 do not have close sounds and that the Qin inscription appears to use 口. CUHK reproduces both passages. The gloss 蚚 refers to a grain insect, often identified as a rice or grain weevil, but grain insect is safer than assigning a precise modern species. CUHK, 強, Chinese Text Project, 說文解字: 虫部

CUHK’s paleographic account is cautious. It says the bronze form is unclear, while Warring States Qin slips and seals are described as containing 弓, 口, and 虫. Its entry does not display an oracle-bone form. The database also treats 彊 as an early form associated with field boundaries and says that 彊 was later borrowed for the strong sense. Kanjipedia describes the relationship in the other direction, saying that 強 came to be used for the 彊 sense. The sources therefore support a historical relationship, but not a settled direction of borrowing. CUHK, 強, CUHK, 彊, 漢字ペディア, 強

The visible 弓 and the published explanation that links 強 with a strong bow or bowstring can remain a memory aid, but the sources do not establish 弓 as the original semantic component. The disputed 弘 analysis also does not by itself explain the modern Japanese readings. These accounts concern the Chinese character; the origins of native Japanese words written with 強 remain separate questions. 小学館, 普及版字通 via 強, CUHK, 弘