尽量 (jǐn liàng) — to the greatest extent possible, as much as pos…

Definition

尽量 means 'as much as possible' — about degree or effort, not time. For 'as soon/early as possible' use 尽快/尽早; 尽情 is 'to one's heart's content'.

adverb

to the greatest extent possibleas much as possible

Examples

尽量。
Qǐng jǐn liàng zǎo dào.
Please arrive as early as possible.
尽量。
Wǒ huì jǐn liàng wán chéng zuò yè.
I will finish the homework as much as possible.
尽量。
jǐn liàng Duō hē shuǐ duì shēn tǐ hǎo.
Drinking as much water as possible is good for your health.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

尽jìnto the utmost

量liángextent

尽 “to the utmost” fixes the amount of 量 “extent”, giving “as much as possible”.

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 →

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