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费力 (fèi lì) — to expend effort, to be strenuous

Definition

费力 describes a TASK that demands a lot of effort, not the effort itself. Unlike 尽力 ('try one's best') or 力求 ('strive to achieve'), 费力 emphasizes the activity feeling strenuous and draining.

verb
to expend effortto be strenuous

Examples

  • 费力。
    Bān zhè ge xiāng zi hěn fèi lì.
    Moving this box takes a lot of effort.
  • 。
    Tā fèi le hěn duō lì cái xiū hǎo diàn nǎo.
    He expended a lot of effort to fix the computer.
  • 费力，。
    Bié fèi lì le, zhè jiàn shì bù zhí dé.
    Don't bother; this matter isn't worth it.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

费fèiexpend
力lìeffort

费 means to expend, and 力 means effort, so the word means to use a lot of effort.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 費; 费 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèicowry
Sound part声符shēngfú
弗
弗fú費fèi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 費 has 貝, a cowry shell, and 弗, which gives a sound; the simplified 费 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the original pieces.

Open 费 →

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 7-9Abstract Concepts

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