TongTong
Sign in

拼死拼活 (pīn sǐ pīn huó) — to go all out; to make every possible effort; to fight desperately

Definition

An idiom meaning 'to exert oneself to the utmost', emphasizing extreme, life-and-death effort. Often used as an adverbial (拼死拼活地 + verb), similar to 拼命 but more vivid and colloquial.

idiom
to go all outto make every possible effortto fight desperately

Examples

  • 拼死拼活，。
    Tā pīn sǐ pīn huó dì gōng zuò, zhōng yú zài gōng sī shēng zhí le.
    He worked desperately and finally got promoted in the company.
  • ，拼死拼活。
    Wèi le zhè ge xiàng mù, wǒ men pīn sǐ pīn huó gān le yí gè yuè.
    For this project, we worked our tails off for a whole month.
  • 拼死拼活，。
    Kǎo shì qián tā pīn sǐ pīn huó fù xí, zǒng suàn tōng guò le.
    He reviewed like mad before the exam and finally passed.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

拼死risk death
拼pīnrisk/strive死sǐdeath
动宾Verb + object
拼活risk life
拼pīnrisk/strive活huólife
动宾Verb + object

'拼死' (risk death) and '拼活' (risk life) combine to mean fight desperately.

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
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
并
并bìng拼
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.

Open 拼 →

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
歹歹dǎi
Sound part声符shēngfú
尸
尸shī死sǐ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

死 is built from 歹 and 尸: 歹 is the part tied to the meaning, and 尸 gives the sound.

Open 死 →

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
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
并
并bìng拼
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.

Open 拼 →

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠯑
𠯑𠯑活huó
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

活 is built from 氵 (water) and 𠯑, which shows the sound; 𠯑 later changed into 舌.

Open 活 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

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