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勉励 (miǎn lì) — to encourage (earnestly, to urge someone to do better)

Definition

勉励 means to encourage someone earnestly to keep going or do better, often with a sense of high expectations. Stronger and more formal than 鼓励, and more about urging self-improvement than 激励.

verb
to encourage (earnestly, to urge someone to do better)

Examples

  • 勉励。
    Lǎo shī cháng cháng miǎn lì xué shēng nǔ lì xué xí.
    The teacher often encourages students to study hard.
  • 勉励。
    Fù mǔ zǒng shì miǎn lì wǒ jiān chí xià qù.
    My parents always encourage me to persevere.
  • 勉励，。
    Tā men hù xiāng miǎn lì, yì qǐ jìn bù.
    They encourage each other and make progress together.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

勉miǎnencourage or strive
励lìencourage

勉 and 励 both mean encourage or urge earnestly, strengthening the sense of encouragement.

Characters in this word

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
力力lìstrong
Sound part声符shēngfú
免
免miǎn勉miǎn
Same sound today

勉 puts 力, meaning strong, beside 免, which gives the sound. The shape shows making a strong effort.

Open 勉 →

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 勵; 励 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
力力lì
Sound part声符shēngfú
厲
厲lì勵lì
Same sound today

The traditional form 勵 puts 厲 beside 力; 力 is the meaning part, and 厲 gives the sound. The simplified 励 is a later shorthand.

Open 励 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6

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