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埋头苦干 (mái tóu-kǔ gàn) — to bury oneself in work; to be totally absorbed in hard work

Definition

Highlights sustained, head-down hard work — focused toil more than effort in general. 全力以赴 emphasizes throwing all one's energy into a task, often a single push.

phrase
to bury oneself in workto be totally absorbed in hard work

Examples

  • ，埋头苦干。
    Tā wèi le wán chéng xiàng mù, lián xù jǐ tiān mái tóu-kǔ gàn.
    He buried himself in work for several days straight to complete the project.
  • 埋头苦干。
    Gōng sī lǐ zuì chéng gōng de yuán gōng dōu shì mái tóu-kǔ gàn de rén.
    The most successful employees in the company are those who bury themselves in work.
  • ，埋头苦干。
    Xiǎng yào tí gāo chéng jì, jiù dé mái tóu-kǔ gàn.
    If you want to improve your grades, you have to work hard with all your effort.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

埋头bury head
埋máibury头tóuhead
动宾Verb + object
苦干work hard
苦kǔhard干gānwork
偏正Modifier + head

埋头苦干 joins 埋头 'head down' with 苦干 'work hard', so the first image sets the manner for the second.

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
艹Written in full as艸cǎoplant
Sound part声符shēngfú
貍
貍lí埋mái
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

An earlier form paired 艹 (plant) with 貍 (lí) for sound. The form 埋 later shows earth with a sound part.

Open 埋 →

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 頭; 头 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yèhead
Sound part声符shēngfú
豆
豆dòu頭tóu
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 頭 shows 頁, meaning head, beside 豆 as a sound component; the simplified 头 is a later shorthand.

Open 头 →

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 →

The simplified 干 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (饼干, 干杯) it is 乾; in others (干, 干活儿) (干扰) it is 幹 or 干.

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 乾; 干 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
乙乙yǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
倝
倝gàn乾gān
Same sound today
Open 干 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Idioms & Set PhrasesWorkplace & Office

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.