拼命
pīnmìng · HSK 7
go all out regardless of danger to one's life
拼 = stake/fight + 命 = life: you stake your life on it, go all out
拼 (pīn) means to fight or stake, the same character as in 拼搏 to struggle; 命 (mìng) is life. Put together, 拼命 is to risk your very life on something, fighting desperately and holding nothing back.
拼 — hand radical 扌 + 并 (combine)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The hand radical 扌 gives the meaning of an action done by hand—putting things together—while 并 (bìng, 'combine, merge') supplies both the sound and reinforces the sense of joining. The character means to piece together, splice, or spell out by combining parts.
命 — 亼 (gather) + 卩 (kneeling person) + 口 (mouth)
Originally depicted a kneeling figure receiving an oral command from above, combining 令 (order) with an added 口 (mouth) for emphasis. The image of authority issuing decrees extended from 'command' to 'mandate' and then 'destiny, life,' as one's fate was seen as decreed by Heaven.