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费劲 (fèi jìn) — to be strenuous; to require effort (often of a task)

Definition

费劲 describes a TASK as strenuous, requiring effort — like 费力 and 吃力, but focuses on the effort spent rather than the person; 使劲 is the action of exerting force yourself.

verb
to be strenuousto require effort (often of a task)

Examples

  • 费劲。
    Bān zhè zhāng zhuō zi zhēn fèi jìn.
    Moving this table is really strenuous.
  • 。
    Tā fèi le bàn tiān jìn cái bǎ mén dǎ kāi.
    He spent half a day's effort before he got the door open.
  • ，费劲。
    Zhè dào tí bù nán, yì diǎn bú fèi jìn.
    This problem isn't hard; it's not strenuous at all.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

费fèiuse up
劲jìnstrength

费 “use up” and 劲 “strength” combine to mean needing 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 費; 费 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèicowry
Sound part声符shēngfú
弗
弗fú費fèi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 費 has 貝, a cowry shell, and 弗, which gives a sound; the simplified 费 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the original pieces.

Open 费 →

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 勁; 劲 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
力力lìstrength
Sound part声符shēngfú
巠
巠jīng勁jìn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 勁 pairs 力, meaning strength, with 巠, which gives the sound; the simplified 劲 is a shorthand and its parts are not the original ones.

Open 劲 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Abstract Concepts

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