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着力 (zhuó lì) — to put effort into (something); to exert one's strength on (a task)

Definition

着力 means to put focused effort into a specific task or goal — more directed and concrete than 尽力 ('try one's best' in general). Often used in policy, research, and work contexts.

verb
to put effort into (something)to exert one's strength on (a task)

Examples

  • 着力。
    Kē yán tuán duì zhèng zhuó lì yú kāi fā xīn xíng néng yuán.
    The research team is putting effort into developing new energy sources.
  • 着力。
    Gōng sī bì xū zhuó lì jiàng dī chéng běn.
    The company must make an effort to reduce costs.
  • 着力。
    Zhèng fǔ zhuó lì gǎi shàn chéng shì jiāo tōng zhuàng kuàng.
    The government is exerting effort to improve the city's traffic conditions.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

着zheapply
力lìstrength

着 suggests applying and 力 gives strength, so the sense is putting effort into something.

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 著; 着 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艸艸cǎograss; plant
Sound part声符shēngfú
者
者zhě著zháo
Same sound today

The traditional form 著 puts 艸 (grass; plant) above 者, which gives the sound; the simplified 着 is a later shorthand.

Open 着 →

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 7-9

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