to throw one's life in for / to haplessly give one's life for / to sacrifice oneself torturously working for another or for a group / to pour in one's utmost effort / to shed one's last ounce of strength for
to bury oneself in work (idiom) / to be engrossed in work / to make an all-out effort / up to the neck in work
吴三桂
Wú Sān guì
Wu Sangui (1612-1678), Chinese general who let the Manchus into China and helped them establish the Qing Dynasty, later leading a revolt against Qing in an effort to start his own dynasty
发奋
fā fèn
to make an effort / to push for sth / to work hard
易如反掌
yì rú fǎn zhǎng
easy as a hand's turn (idiom) / very easy / no effort at all
功亏一篑
gōng kuī yī kuì
lit. to ruin the enterprise for the sake of one basketful / to fail through lack of a final effort / to spoil the ship for a ha'penny worth of tar (idiom)
鞠躬尽瘁
jū gōng jìn cuì
to bend to a task and spare no effort (idiom) / striving to the utmost
煞费苦心
shà fèi kǔ xīn
to take a lot of trouble (idiom) / painstaking / at the cost of a lot of effort
lit. to clasp the Buddha's feet when danger arises (idiom) / fig. to profess devotion only when in trouble / doing things at the last minute / making a hasty last-minute effort
to win as a result of tenacious effort / to fight off tough competition
不辞劳苦
bù cí láo kǔ
to spare no effort
尽心竭力
jìn xīn jié lì
to spare no effort (idiom) / to do one's utmost
生命在于运动
shēng mìng zài yú yùn dòng
life is motion (popular saying with many possible interpretations) / Physical effort is vital for our bodies to function (Aristotle). / Life derives from physical exercise.
费工夫
fèi gōng fu
to spend a great deal of time and effort / (of a task) demanding / exacting
水滴石穿
shuǐ dī shí chuān
dripping water penetrates the stone (idiom) / constant perseverance yields success / You can achieve your aim if you try hard without giving up. / Persistent effort overcomes any difficulty.
滴水穿石
dī shuǐ chuān shí
dripping water penetrates the stone (idiom) / constant perseverance yields success / You can achieve your aim if you try hard without giving up. / Persistent effort overcomes any difficulty.
尽心尽力
jìn xīn jìn lì
making an all-out effort (idiom) / to try one's heart out / to do one's utmost
the matter depends on the individual (idiom) / it is a matter for your own effort / With effort, one can achieve anything.
一曝十寒
yī pù shí hán
one day's sun, ten days' frost (idiom, from Mencius) / fig. to work for a bit then skimp / sporadic effort / lack of sticking power / short attention span
割鸡焉用牛刀
gē jī yān yòng niú dāo
lit. why use a pole-ax to slaughter a chicken? (idiom) / fig. to waste effort on a trifling matter / also written 殺雞焉用牛刀|杀鸡焉用牛刀[sha1 ji1 yan1 yong4 niu2 dao1]
genius comes from hard effort / Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration (Thomas Edison)
平时不烧香，临时抱佛脚
píng shí bù shāo xiāng , lín shí bào fó jiǎo
lit. to clasp the Buddha's feet when danger arises (idiom) / fig. to profess devotion only when in trouble / doing things at the last minute / to make a hasty last-minute effort (often refers to cramming for exams)
撒网捕风
sā wǎng bǔ fēng
lit. the wind cannot be caught in a net / to waste one's effort (idiom)
滴水石穿
dī shuǐ shí chuān
dripping water penetrates the stone (idiom) / constant perseverance yields success / You can achieve your aim if you try hard without giving up. / Persistent effort overcomes any difficulty.
using a wicker basket to draw water (idiom) / wasted effort
耗力
hào lì
to require much effort
耗时耗力
hào shí hào lì
requiring much time and effort
着劲儿
zhuó jìn r
to put effort into sth / to try really hard
铆劲儿
mǎo jìn r
to apply all one's strength in a burst of effort
鞠躬尽瘁，死而后已
jū gōng jìn cuì , sǐ ér hòu yǐ
to bend to a task and spare no effort unto one's dying day (idiom) / striving to the utmost one's whole life / with every breath in one's body, unto one's dying day
nǔ lì