下工夫 (xià gōng fu) — to put in time and effort, to devote energy (to a task)
Definition
A verb phrase meaning to invest time and effort in something; often pairs with 在/下 with a topic. Distinct from the noun 功夫 (martial art / time), which is the same characters but a different word class.
verb
to put in time and effortto devote energy (to a task)
Examples
- ，下工夫。Yào xiǎng xué hǎo zhè mén shǒu yì, nǐ bì xū xià gōng fu.To master this craft, you must put in time and effort.
- ，。Wèi le zhè cì kǎo shì, tā xià le bù shǎo gōng fu.He put in quite a lot of effort for this exam.
- ，。Tā zài shè jì shàng xià gōng fu hěn duō, suǒ yǐ zuò pǐn hěn chū sè.She put a lot of energy into the design, so her work is outstanding.
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