力争
lì zhēng · HSK 7
to work hard for
💪 力 = strength/force + 争 = to strive/contend = strive with all your might
力 is strength or effort; 争 is to contend or compete. Together they mean to fight hard for something, putting all your force into the contest.
力 — pictograph of a plow or arm muscle
力 originated as a pictograph of an ancient plow, the main tool requiring physical exertion in early agriculture. Some scholars also see it as a flexed arm showing muscle. From this concrete image it broadened to mean 'strength, power, force, effort'.
争 — hand 爫 (claw) over hand 又 pulling 亅
争 depicts two hands grabbing the same object from above and below, with a vertical stroke representing the contested item between them. The image of two parties tugging at one thing gave rise to its meanings of 'to contend,' 'to fight for,' or 'to dispute.' The modern simplified form streamlines the older 爭.