致力于
zhìlìyú · HSK 7
Dedicate
💪 致 devote + 力 strength + 于 toward = pour your strength toward something
致 means to deliver or devote, 力 is strength or effort, and 于 marks the target (toward/at). Stack them and 致力于 literally directs your effort at a goal, which is exactly what to dedicate oneself means.
致 — arrive 至 + strike/go 攵
Originally a compound of 至 (to arrive, showing an arrow reaching the ground) and 攵 (a hand with a stick, indicating action). Together they suggested 'to cause to arrive' or 'to send/deliver,' which broadened into modern senses like 'to send, devote, or bring about.'
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'.
于 — two horizontal strokes 二 + vertical hook 亅
于 originated as a pictograph of breath or sound flowing outward, depicting exhalation through a passage. In oracle bone script it resembled a curved line showing motion or extension. Over time it became a grammatical preposition meaning 'at,' 'in,' or 'to,' losing its original concrete sense.