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大干一场 (dà gàn yì chǎng) — to go all out; to throw oneself into a big effort

Definition

A colloquial set phrase meaning 'to go all out / throw oneself into a big effort,' usually for one decisive push rather than steady work. Often takes a goal or project as the object.

verb
to go all outto throw oneself into a big effort

Examples

  • ，大干一场。
    Zhè cì jī huì nán dé, wǒ men yí dìng yào dà gàn yì chǎng.
    This opportunity is rare; we must go all out.
  • 大干一场。
    Gōng sī jué dìng zài xīn xiàng mù shàng dà gàn yì chǎng.
    The company decided to go all out on the new project.
  • 大干一场，。
    Tā zhǔn bèi zài nián dǐ qián dà gàn yì chǎng, wán chéng suǒ yǒu mù biāo.
    He plans to go all out before the end of the year to achieve all the goals.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

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 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Open 一 →

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 場; 场 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
昜
昜yáng場chǎng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 場 pairs 土 (earth) with 昜 as a sound part; the simplified 场 is a later abbreviation, so its parts do not have that historical role.

Open 场 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

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