不辞劳苦 (bù cí láo kǔ) — (idiom) to spare no effort; to take great pains; to go to great lengths

Definition

Literally 'not refuse toil and hardship': an idiom meaning someone works willingly and tirelessly through difficulty. Sets a literary, praiseworthy tone — far stronger and more formal than just 努力.

idiom
to spare no effortto take great painsto go to great lengths

Examples

  • ，不辞劳苦。
    Wèi le wán chéng rèn wu, tā bù cí láo kǔ dì gōng zuò.
    He worked tirelessly to complete the task.
  • 不辞劳苦，。
    Tā zhào gù bìng rén bù cí láo kǔ, dà jiā dōu hěn gǎn dòng.
    She took great pains taking care of the patients, and everyone was moved.
  • 不辞劳苦，。
    Yán jiū rén yuán bù cí láo kǔ, zhōng yú qǔ dé le tū pò.
    The researchers spared no effort and finally achieved a breakthrough.

Origin

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 辞 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 勞; 劳 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
力力lì
Sound part声符shēngfú
𬡤
𬡤𬡤勞láo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 勞 uses 力 for the meaning and 𬡤 for the sound; the simplified 劳 is a later shortened shape.

Open 劳 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艸艸cǎograss
Sound part声符shēngfú
古
古gǔ苦kǔ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The top 艸 shows grass or plants, matching the sense of bitter plants. The bottom 古 gives the sound.

Open 苦 →

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