费工夫 (fèi gōng fū) — to spend a great deal of time and effort (on something); (of a task) to be demanding, to require a lot of effort

Definition

费工夫 is a colloquial verb-object phrase meaning 'to take a great deal of time and effort' — either as an activity that demands work, or as something one spends effort on.

verb
to spend a great deal of time and effort (on something)(of a task) to be demandingto require a lot of effort

Examples

  • 费工夫
    Tā fèi gōng fū xué le hěn jiǔ cái xué huì tán gāng qín.
    He spent a lot of time and effort learning to play the piano.
  • 费工夫
    Zhè ge xiàng mù tài fèi gōng fū le, wǒ men dé zài zhǎo jǐ gè rén bāng máng.
    This project is too demanding; we need to find a few more people to help.
  • Wèi le zhǔn bèi kǎo shì, wǒ fèi le hěn duō gōng fu fù xí.
    I spent a lot of time and effort reviewing for the exam.

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