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开足马力 (kāi zú mǎ lì) — to go full steam ahead; to put into high gear; to spare no effort

Definition

An idiom meaning 'go full steam ahead' — like cranking a machine to maximum. Used for effort, speed, or production running at full capacity.

idiom
to go full steam aheadto put into high gearto spare no effort

Examples

  • ，开足马力。
    Wèi le àn shí wán chéng xiàng mù, tā men kāi zú mǎ lì dì gōng zuò.
    To complete the project on time, they worked at full speed.
  • ，开足马力。
    Bǐ sài yì kāi shǐ, tā jiù kāi zú mǎ lì dì chōng le chū qù.
    As soon as the race started, he dashed out at full speed.
  • 开足马力，。
    Gōng sī jué dìng kāi zú mǎ lì, quán lì kāi fā xīn chǎn pǐn.
    The company decided to go all out and develop new products with full force.

Origin

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 開; 开 is its simplified writing.

  • 門門méndoor
  • 一一yīlatch and/or wooden pole that shuts a door
  • 廾廾gǒnga pair of hands

The traditional form 開 shows 廾, a pair of hands, and 一, a latch or pole, inside 門, a door: hands opening a latched door. The simplified 开 is a shorthand form, so its parts are not the original pieces.

Open 开 →

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

足 was originally drawn as a leg.

Open 足 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 馬; 马 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 馬 shows a horse with its head facing left, a flowing mane, and two legs standing vertically.

Open 马 →

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

力 is drawn as either an arm bending out from the side of the body or a wooden plough.

Open 力 →
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Idioms & Set Phrases

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