TongTong
Sign in

竭尽全力 (jié jìn quán lì) — to spare no effort; to do one's utmost

Definition

Strong written phrase meaning 'spare no effort / do one's utmost'. Compared to 尽全力, it sounds more formal and emphatic; unlike 千方百计 it focuses on effort, not methods.

phrase
to spare no effortto do one's utmost

Examples

  • ，竭尽全力。
    Wèi le wán chéng zhè ge xiàng mù, zhěng gè tuán duì dōu jié jìn quán lì le.
    The entire team spared no effort to finish this project.
  • 竭尽全力，。
    Tā jié jìn quán lì dì liàn xí le sān nián, zhōng yú zài guó jì bǐ sài zhōng huò jiǎng.
    He practiced with all his might for three years and finally won a prize in an international competition.
  • 竭尽全力。
    Zhèng fǔ chéng nuò jié jìn quán lì bǎo hù shēng tài huán jìng.
    The government pledged to do its utmost to protect the ecological environment.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

竭尽exhaust
竭jiéexhaust尽jìnfinish
联合Coordinate
全力whole strength
全quánwhole力lìstrength
偏正Modifier + head

竭 and 尽 both exhaust, and they are applied to 全 and 力, the whole strength, leaving nothing unused.

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
立立lì
Sound part声符shēngfú
曷
曷hé竭jié
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

竭 is built from 立 and 曷: 立 carries the meaning part, while 曷 supplies the sound.

Open 竭 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 盡; 尽 is its simplified writing.

  • 聿聿yùhand holding a brush
  • 灬灬huǒbristles
  • 皿皿mǐndish

The traditional form 盡 shows 聿 (hand holding a brush) and 灬 (bristles) over 皿 (dish), cleaning a dish until it is empty. The simplified 尽 is a shorthand, not those historical parts.

Open 尽 →

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

The shape puts 入 together with 玉 to show a whole piece of jade, so it means complete or whole.

Open 全 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Idioms & Set PhrasesSuccess & Failure

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