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呕心沥血 (ǒu xīn lì xuè) — to work with utmost effort and dedication; to pour one's heart and soul into

Definition

A formal idiom meaning 'to pour one's heart and soul into' creative or intellectual work. Highlights extreme dedication and exhausting effort, stronger than everyday phrases like 努力 or 认真.

idiom
to work with utmost effort and dedicationto pour one's heart and soul into

Examples

  • 呕心沥血。
    Zhè wèi zuò jiā ǒu xīn lì xuè dì xiě chéng le zhè bù xiǎo shuō.
    This author wrote this novel with utmost dedication.
  • 呕心沥血，。
    Kē xué jiā men ǒu xīn lì xuè, zhōng yú zhǎo dào le jiě jué fāng àn.
    The scientists worked with all their might and finally found a solution.
  • 呕心沥血，。
    Lǎo shī ǒu xīn lì xuè dì jiào dǎo xué shēng, lìng rén gǎn dòng.
    The teacher taught the students with such devotion that it moved people.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

呕心vomit heart
呕ǒuvomit心xīnheart
动宾Verb + object
沥血drip blood
沥lìdrip血xuèblood
动宾Verb + object

呕心 and 沥血 both picture pouring out heart and blood, so together they express utmost 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 嘔; 呕 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
區
區qū嘔òu
Same sound today

The traditional form 嘔 has 口 (mouth) and 區 as a sound part; this explains 嘔, not the form 呕.

Open 呕 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 心 comes from a drawing of a heart, now highly stylized.

Open 心 →

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 瀝; 沥 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
歷
歷lì瀝lì
Same sound today

The traditional form 瀝 pairs 水 (water) with the sound part 歷; the simplified 沥 is a shorthand and its parts are not the historical components.

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

  • 一一yīdrop of blood
  • 皿皿mǐncontainer

The shape shows 一, a drop of blood, inside 皿, a container, for blood held in a sacrificial vessel.

Open 血 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

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