精疲力竭
jīng pí lì jié · HSK 7
drained
🪫 精(spirit) + 疲(weary) + 力(strength) + 竭(used up) = spirit weary, strength all used up
Two pairs stacked: 精疲 means the spirit is worn out, 力竭 means strength has run dry. 竭 is the same drained-to-empty sense as in 竭尽 (exhaust fully). Together: completely spent.
精 — rice 米 + blue/green 青 (phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound: 米 (rice) gives the meaning, while 青 supplies the sound. Originally referred to polished, refined rice — grain with the husk removed. The sense broadened to 'refined, pure, essence,' and later 'fine, skilled, spirit.'
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'.