狠命 (hěn mìng) — desperately; with all one's might

Definition

An adverb meaning 'with all one's might, desperately' — intensifies a verb, usually before a 地 phrase (狠命地跑). Stronger and more literary than everyday 用力.

adverb
desperatelywith all one's might

Examples

  • 狠命，。
    Tā hěn mìng dì pǎo, zhōng yú gǎn shàng le huǒ chē.
    He ran desperately and finally caught the train.
  • 狠命，。
    Tā hěn mìng dì gōng zuò, xiǎng jǐn kuài wán chéng zhè ge xiàng mù.
    She worked desperately, wanting to finish this project as soon as possible.
  • 狠命。
    Yùn dòng yuán men zài bǐ sài zhōng hěn mìng dì pīn bó.
    The athletes fought desperately in the competition.

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.

狠hěnfierce; hard
命mìnglife; vital force

The fierce intensity in 狠 combines with 命 ('life, vital force') to mean 'with all one's might'.

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
犭Written in full as犬quǎn
Sound part声符shēngfú
艮
艮gèn狠hěn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 狠, the left part 犭 is a shortened form of 犬; the right part 艮 gives the sound.

Open 狠 →

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.

Open 命 →

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