尽情 (jìn qíng) — as much as one likes, to one's heart's content, to the fullest

Definition

尽情 focuses on pleasure and enjoyment done fully, without limit. 尽量 is about doing something 'as much as possible' out of effort or constraint, not enjoyment.

adverb
as much as one likesto one's heart's contentto the fullest

Examples

  • 尽情
    Zài zhè ge jié rì lǐ, rén men kě yǐ jìn qíng dì chàng gē tiào wǔ.
    During this festival, people can sing and dance to their heart's content.
  • 尽情
    Tā zhōng yú yǒu jī huì jìn qíng xiǎng shòu dà zì rán de měi jǐng.
    He finally had a chance to fully enjoy the beauty of nature.
  • 尽情
    Ràng wǒ men jìn qíng huān xiào, bǎ fán nǎo dōu wàng diào.
    Let's laugh heartily and forget all our worries.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

jìnexhaust
qíngfeeling

“尽” (exhaust) and “情” (feeling) suggest letting feeling run fully, hence as much as one likes.

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.

  • hand holding a brush
  • huǒbristles
  • 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 →

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
xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
qīngqíng
Same sound today

情 shows 心 (heart) beside 青, which gives the sound. The heart part points to feelings and inner states.

Open 情 →

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