(mài) - To exert effort & to strive

Tone 4

mài | 14 strokes | radical:

· mài

To exert effort;

to strive;

to encourage;

to urge;

to put forth effort.

To exert effortto striveto encourage

Usage highlights

To exert effortTo encourageTo work diligentlyTo urge forwardTo strive diligentlyTo put forth great effort

Synonyms

  • to encourage; to exert oneself
  • to exert effort; to encourage
  • diligent; industrious
  • to exert oneself; to strive

Antonyms

  • idle; negligent; lazy
  • lazy; indolent
  • slack; relaxed; negligent

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • He exerted great effort to complete the task (勱力完成).
  • We should encourage each other to make progress (互相勱勵).
  • The teacher urged the students to study hard (老師勱學生努力學習).
  • Through hard work and effort, he achieved success (勤勱成功).

Collocations

  • To exert effort(勱力)
  • To encourage(勱勵)
  • To work diligently(勤勱)
  • To urge forward(勱進)
  • To strive diligently(勱勉)
  • To put forth great effort(大勱)

Idioms

  • To exert all one's strength(勱力同心)
  • To encourage and support each other(相勱相助)
  • To work diligently and conscientiously(勤勱不懈)
  • To strive for progress(勱精圖治)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • The character contains the '力' (lì) radical meaning 'strength' or 'effort', directly relating to its meaning of exertion.
  • Historically used in classical texts to describe diligent effort and encouragement.
  • Less commonly used in modern vernacular Chinese compared to its simplified form 励.

FAQ