竭尽全力
jié jìn quán lì · HSK 7
to do one's utmost
💪 竭 exhaust + 尽 use up + 全 whole + 力 strength = drain every drop of your whole strength
Four characters stack the same idea: 竭 (to exhaust) and 尽 (to use up) pair with 全力 (full force). Together they mean draining your entire reserve of strength until none is left — to do one's absolute utmost.
尽 — hand 彐 holding brush over fire 灬
Originally depicted a hand holding a brush sweeping out the last embers in a vessel, suggesting 'finishing' or 'using up.' The simplified form 尽 replaces the older 盡, but keeps the core meaning of exhausting or completing something fully.
全 — enter 入 on top + jade 玉
Originally written as 入 (enter) over 玉 (jade), depicting a complete, unflawed piece of jade kept in storage. From this image of a perfect jade came the meanings 'whole,' 'complete,' and 'entire.' The top component is sometimes written as 人.
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'.