拼命 (pīn mìng) — (adverb) with all one's might; desperately; lik… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

拼命 is vivid and colloquial — 'with all one's might, like one's life depends on it.' Stronger and more physical than 竭力/极力 (formal, abstract effort); 奋力 sits between, with strenuous action but less life-or-death stakes.

adverb

with all one's mightdesperatelylike crazy

verb

to risk one's lifeto throw oneself into sth with abandon

Examples

拼命。
Tā pīn mìng dì pǎo xiàng zhōng diǎn.
He ran toward the finish line with all his might.
，拼命。
Wèi le wán chéng xiàng mù, dà jiā pīn mìng jiā bān.
Everyone worked overtime desperately to finish the project.
拼命，。
Tā wèi jiù hái zi ér pīn mìng, zuì hòu chéng gōng le.
She risked her life to save the child and finally succeeded.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

拼pīnfight; risk

拼 means to fight or risk, and 命 means life, so 拼命 expresses acting as if risking one's life.

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.

扌并拼

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

并

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 拼, the left part 扌 shows a hand, and the right part 并 gives the sound.

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

口口kǒumouth

Sound part声符shēngfú

令

令lìng命mìng

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

命 combines 口, a mouth, with 令, which gives the sound.

Appears in

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