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尽力 (jìn lì) — to do one's best, to try one's hardest

Definition

尽力 means 'do one's best' — it takes a verb-object complement (尽力去做). 卖 is unrelated; 卖 is to sell. Used for effort on a task, not a person.

verb
to do one's bestto try one's hardest

Examples

  • 尽力。
    Wǒ zhè cì kǎo shì yí dìng huì jìn lì kǎo hǎo.
    I will do my best to do well on this exam.
  • ，尽力。
    Wú lùn yù dào shén me kùn nan, wǒ dōu huì jìn lì qù zuò.
    No matter what difficulties I encounter, I will do my best to do it.
  • 尽力，。
    Tā zài bǐ sài zhōng jìn lì le, dàn hái shì shū le.
    He did his best in the competition, but still lost.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

尽jìnto exert
力lìstrength

The idea of 尽 “to exert” is directed at 力 “strength”, giving “do one’s best”.

Characters in this word

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 →

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
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