nǔ lì
hardworking
我很努力地学习中文。
wǒ hěn nǔlì de xuéxí zhōngwén.
I study Chinese very hard.
他很努力地工作。
tā hěn nǔlì de gōngzuò.
He works very hard.
我们都很努力地生活。
wǒmen dōu hěn nǔlì de shēnghuó.
We all live very hard.
尽力 (jǐnlì)
try one's best
奋斗 (fèndòu)
strive
懒惰 (lǎnduò)
lazy
懈怠 (xièdài)
slack
Track your progress, master characters, and achieve your Chinese language goals.
Get Started Free
The Chinese word 努力 (nǔlì) is composed of two characters: 努 (nǔ) and 力 (lì). The character 努 originally meant "to stretch" or "to exert oneself", and it is often used in compounds to express the idea of effort or exertion. The character 力 means "strength" or "power", and it is also used in many compounds to express the idea of force or energy. Together, the two characters 努力 form a compound that means "to exert effort" or "to strive". This word is often used to encourage people to put in their best effort and to never give up.
