The Chinese idiom 竭尽全力 (jié jìn quán lì) is a powerful four-character expression (chengyu) that conveys the idea of giving absolutely everything you have to achieve a goal or complete a task. Breaking it down character by character reveals its profound depth. '竭' (jié) means to exhaust or use up entirely. '尽' (jìn) reinforces this, meaning to finish or to the utmost. '全' (quán) translates to whole, entire, or all. Finally, '力' (lì) stands for strength, power, or effort. When combined, the literal translation is 'to exhaust to the utmost all strength.' This phrase is deeply embedded in Chinese culture, emphasizing perseverance, dedication, and the refusal to give up, regardless of the challenges faced. People use this idiom in various contexts, from everyday struggles to monumental tasks. You will frequently hear it in professional environments when an employee promises their boss they will do their best on a project. It is equally common in sports, where athletes declare they will spare no effort to win. In medical contexts, doctors use it to assure families that they are doing everything medically possible to save a patient. The emotional weight of this phrase makes it suitable for serious, formal, or highly dedicated situations rather than trivial matters.
- Literal Meaning
- To exhaust all of one's strength.
- Figurative Meaning
- To spare no effort in attempting to achieve something.
- Emotional Tone
- Determined, serious, committed, and highly respectful.
为了赢得比赛,他竭尽全力。
医生们竭尽全力抢救伤员。
面对困难,我们必须竭尽全力。
她竭尽全力去帮助那个贫困的孩子。
只要你竭尽全力,就不会留下遗憾。
Grammatically, 竭尽全力 functions highly flexibly in modern Chinese, despite being a traditional four-character idiom. Its primary use is as an adverbial phrase modifying a subsequent verb. When used this way, it is often followed by the structural particle 地 (de) or the preposition 去 (qù), though both can sometimes be omitted in casual speech. For example, '竭尽全力地工作' (to work with all one's might) or '竭尽全力去解决问题' (to spare no effort to solve the problem). The inclusion of '去' emphasizes the direction or goal of the effort. Another common structural pattern is using it as the main predicate of a sentence. In this form, it usually takes the perfective aspect marker 了 (le) to indicate that the maximum effort has already been expended, such as in '为了这个项目,我已经竭尽全力了' (I have already given my all for this project). Furthermore, it can serve as an attributive modifying a noun, typically requiring the particle 的 (de). For instance, '竭尽全力的付出' translates to 'an all-out effort' or 'a contribution made with utmost strength.' Understanding these three main syntactic roles—adverbial, predicate, and attributive—will allow you to deploy this advanced vocabulary word naturally and accurately in both written and spoken Chinese contexts.
- As an Adverbial
- Modifies a verb: 竭尽全力(地/去) + Verb.
- As a Predicate
- Ends the sentence: Subject + 已经 + 竭尽全力 + 了.
- As an Attributive
- Modifies a noun: 竭尽全力 + 的 + Noun.
政府将竭尽全力保障人民的安全。
这支球队在决赛中竭尽全力。
我们需要大家竭尽全力的支持。
我保证会竭尽全力完成任务。
面对危机,他竭尽全力寻找出路。
While 竭尽全力 is a formal idiom, it has thoroughly permeated modern spoken and written Chinese, appearing across a wide spectrum of daily life. You will frequently encounter it in professional and corporate environments. During meetings, a manager might urge their team to spare no effort to meet a crucial deadline. In performance reviews, employees use it to describe their dedication to the company. Another highly common domain is sports media. Commentators, journalists, and athletes constantly use this phrase to describe a team's performance, especially in high-stakes matches like the Olympics or World Cup finals. '中国队竭尽全力拼搏' (The Chinese team fought with all their might) is a standard headline. The medical field is another poignant context. Doctors speaking to anxious family members will often say, '我们会竭尽全力抢救' (We will do everything in our power to save them), offering a formal yet deeply compassionate reassurance. In educational settings, teachers encourage students preparing for the grueling Gaokao (college entrance exam) to give it their all. Even in literature, movies, and television dramas, this idiom is used during climactic moments where characters are pushed to their absolute limits, fighting for survival, love, or justice. It carries a dramatic, earnest weight.
- Workplace
- Used to express dedication to projects and deadlines.
- Sports
- Describes athletes giving their absolute best performance.
- Medical
- Reassurance from doctors that all medical options are being utilized.
教练要求球员们在场上竭尽全力。
请放心,我们医院会竭尽全力治好他。
为了这次高考,她已经竭尽全力了。
全体员工竭尽全力,终于按时交付了产品。
救援队竭尽全力在废墟中搜寻幸存者。
When learning to use 竭尽全力, English speakers frequently make a few predictable errors. The most common mistake is semantic redundancy. Because the idiom already translates to 'exhausting ALL strength,' adding other words that mean 'all' or 'completely' creates an awkward, repetitive sentence. For example, saying '我竭尽全力所有的力量' (I exhausted all my strength all my strength) is grammatically incorrect in Chinese. You should simply say '我竭尽全力'. Another frequent error involves degree adverbs. Learners often try to say 'I tried VERY hard' by adding '很' (very) or '非常' (extremely) before the idiom, resulting in '他很竭尽全力'. This is wrong because '竭尽' is an absolute state; you cannot be 'very' at the absolute maximum. A third mistake is tonal mismatch. This idiom carries a heavy, serious, and formal tone. Using it to describe trivial, everyday activities sounds comical to native speakers. For instance, saying '我竭尽全力吃完了汉堡' (I spared no effort to finish eating the hamburger) is an inappropriate use of the word, unless used ironically. Stick to using it for significant challenges, moral duties, professional tasks, or genuine crises to sound like a native speaker.
- Redundancy
- Do not add '所有的力气' after the idiom.
- Degree Adverbs
- Never put '很' or '非常' in front of 竭尽全力.
- Tonal Mismatch
- Avoid using it for minor, everyday chores.
❌ 错误: 他很竭尽全力地跑。
✅ 正确: 他竭尽全力地跑。
❌ 错误: 我竭尽全力洗碗。
✅ 正确: 我努力洗碗。
❌ 错误: 我们竭尽全力所有的办法。
✅ 正确: 我们竭尽全力想办法。
❌ 错误: 非常竭尽全力。
✅ 正确: 已经竭尽全力。
❌ 错误: 他竭尽全力去睡觉。
✅ 正确: 他马上就去睡觉。
Chinese is rich in idioms that express dedication and effort, so 竭尽全力 has several close synonyms that learners should differentiate. The most common alternative is 全力以赴 (quán lì yǐ fù), which means 'to go all out.' While highly similar, 全力以赴 emphasizes the attitude of facing a specific task or challenge head-on, whereas 竭尽全力 emphasizes the exhaustion of one's internal reserves and strength. Another alternative is 尽心尽力 (jìn xīn jìn lì), meaning 'with all one's heart and strength.' This phrase carries a softer, more emotional tone, often used when providing care, serving others, or fulfilling a moral duty, rather than tackling a difficult physical or professional challenge. For a more desperate connotation, one might use 孤注一掷 (gū zhù yī zhì), which means 'to put all one's eggs in one basket' or risk everything on a single venture; this is much riskier and less universally positive than 竭尽全力. On the simpler side, the everyday word 努力 (nǔ lì) means 'to work hard' and is the best alternative for daily, non-extreme situations where a four-character idiom would be overkill. Understanding these nuances allows for much more precise and elegant expression.
- 全力以赴 (quán lì yǐ fù)
- Focuses on dedicating all resources to a specific goal.
- 尽心尽力 (jìn xīn jìn lì)
- Focuses on emotional care and fulfilling one's duty.
- 努力 (nǔ lì)
- A basic, everyday verb/adjective for 'working hard.'
我们将全力以赴迎接新的挑战。(Focus on the challenge)
护士对病人尽心尽力。(Focus on care)
每天努力学习。(Everyday context)
相比之下,竭尽全力更强调力量的耗尽。
不要轻易孤注一掷。(Risk context)
Exemples par niveau
我会竭尽全力。
I will do my best.
Used here as a simple predicate.
他竭尽全力跑。
He runs with all his might.
Used before a verb.
我们要竭尽全力。
We must do our best.
Used with 要 (must/want).
你竭尽全力了吗?
Did you do your best?
Question form with 吗.
我竭尽全力学习。
I try my best to study.
Modifying the verb 学习.
大家竭尽全力。
Everyone does their best.
Subject 大家 + idiom.
她竭尽全力帮我。
She tries her best to help me.
Modifying the verb 帮.
请竭尽全力。
Please do your best.
Imperative form with 请.
为了考试,我竭尽全力。
For the exam, I am doing my best.
Used with 为了 (for the purpose of).
医生竭尽全力救人。
The doctor spares no effort to save people.
Modifying 救人 (save people).
我已经竭尽全力了。
I have already done my best.
Used with 已经...了 to show completed action.
比赛时,他竭尽全力。
During the match, he did his utmost.
Contextualized with 比赛时 (during the game).
我们会竭尽全力完成工作。
We will do our best to finish the work.
Used with 会 (will) for future promise.
只要竭尽全力就好。
As long as you do your best, it's fine.
Used with 只要...就好 (as long as... it's good).
妈妈竭尽全力照顾我。
Mom spares no effort in taking care of me.
Modifying 照顾 (take care of).
他竭尽全力去寻找小狗。
He spared no effort to look for the puppy.
Using 去 before the verb.
即使失败了,只要竭尽全力就不后悔。
Even if you fail, as long as you did your best, you won't regret it.
Complex sentence with 即使 (even if) and 只要 (as long as).
公司要求所有员工竭尽全力完成目标。
The company requires all employees to do their utmost to achieve the goal.
Used in a formal workplace context.
面对这么大的困难,我们必须竭尽全力。
Facing such a great difficulty, we must spare no effort.
Used with 面对 (facing).
救援队伍竭尽全力在废墟中搜寻生还者。
The rescue team spared no effort searching for survivors in the ruins.
Journalistic style description.
我向你保证,我会竭尽全力解决这个问题。
I promise you, I will do my absolute best to solve this problem.
Used for making a strong promise.
他竭尽全力地奔跑,终于赶上了最后一班车。
He ran with all his might and finally caught the last bus.
Using 地 to clearly mark it as an adverb.
为了让孩子上好学校,父母竭尽全力。
To get their child into a good school, the parents spared no effort.
Expressing parental sacrifice.
警方表示将竭尽全力调查此案。
The police stated they will spare no effort in investigating this case.
Formal statement context.
在这场关乎公司存亡的危机中,每个人都必须竭尽全力。
In this crisis concerning the company's survival, everyone must do their utmost.
Advanced vocabulary context (存亡).
尽管医生们竭尽全力,还是没能挽回他的生命。
Although the doctors spared no effort, they still couldn't save his life.
Concessive clause with 尽管...还是...
作为辩护律师,他竭尽全力为当事人争取合法权益。
As a defense lawyer, he spared no effort to fight for his client's legal rights.
Professional legal context.
两国政府同意竭尽全力推动和平谈判。
The governments of both countries agreed to do their utmost to promote peace talks.
Political/diplomatic context.
她以竭尽全力的拼搏精神赢得了全场的掌声。
She won the applause of the whole audience with her spirit of sparing no effort.
Used as an attributive modifying 精神 (spirit).
无论结果如何,我们都已经竭尽全力,问心无愧。
Regardless of the result, we have already done our best and have a clear conscience.
Paired with another idiom 问心无愧 (clear conscience).
为了筹集手术费,他竭尽全力,四处奔波。
To raise money for the surgery, he spared no effort, running around everywhere.
Descriptive narrative.
环保组织呼吁大家竭尽全力保护地球生态环境。
Environmental organizations call on everyone to do their utmost to protect the earth's ecological environment.
Formal appeal context.
在资源极度匮乏的情况下,科研团队依然竭尽全力攻克了技术难关。
Under conditions of extreme resource scarcity, the research team still spared no effort and overcame the technical barrier.
Complex sentence structure with formal vocabulary (极度匮乏, 攻克).
与其在事后懊悔,不如在当下竭尽全力,放手一搏。
Rather than regretting it afterward, it is better to spare no effort in the present and give it a shot.
Comparative structure 与其...不如...
这部纪录片真实地展现了基层干部竭尽全力为民排忧解难的感人瞬间。
This documentary authentically shows the touching moments of grassroots cadres sparing no effort to solve problems for the people.
High-level attributive clause.
面对突如其来的自然灾害,全国上下同舟共济,竭尽全力展开救援。
Facing the sudden natural disaster, the whole country pulled together and spared no effort in launching rescue operations.
Paired with another advanced idiom 同舟共济.
他的一生都在竭尽全力地追求真理,从未向世俗妥协。
He spent his entire life sparing no effort in the pursuit of truth, never compromising with worldly conventions.
Philosophical/biographical context.
文章指出,只有竭尽全力深化改革,才能突破当前的经济发展瓶颈。
The article points out that only by sparing no effort to deepen reforms can we break through the current economic development bottleneck.
Macro-economic/political discourse.
这不仅是一场体能的较量,更是意志的考验,双方都已竭尽全力。
This is not only a contest of physical stamina but also a test of will; both sides have already given it their all.
Parallel structure 不仅是...更是...
由于事态严重,大使馆表示将竭尽全力保障海外侨胞的人身安全。
Due to the severity of the situation, the embassy stated it will do its utmost to ensure the personal safety of overseas compatriots.
Diplomatic and crisis management vocabulary.
纵使前路荆棘密布
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