努力 meaning in English
to make an effort; to try hard; to strive; hard-working; conscientious
Meaning of 努力
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to make an effort; to try hard; to strive
- hard-working; conscientious
How to use 努力
努力 works as a verb meaning to try hard, as an adjective meaning hard-working, and often as an adverb before another verb with 地. A very common phrase is 努力学习 (nǔlì xuéxí), to study hard. Example: 他工作很努力。(Tā gōngzuò hěn nǔlì.) He works very hard.
努力 (nǔlì) is built from two characters that both contain 力 (lì), strength. The first one, 努, has 力 sitting at its base, and the second is simply 力 itself, so the whole word means putting all your strength into something.
Common mistake: Learners often write 努 with 奴 on top but forget that 力 goes underneath, or they confuse it with 怒 (nù, angry), which has 心 (heart) at the bottom instead of 力. Also remember that 努 is third tone, nǔ, not fourth tone like 怒.
努力 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
努 nǔ · to exert · 7 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
力 lì · power · 2 strokes
- 1
- 2
Related words
Words that share a character with 努力.
| 力量 | lìliàng | power; force; strength |
| 能力 | nénglì | capability; ability |
| 压力 | yālì | pressure |
| 动力 | dònglì | motive power; (fig.) motivation; impetus |
| 实力 | shílì | strength |
| 听力 | tīnglì | hearing; listening ability |
| 巧克力 | qiǎokèlì | (loanword) chocolate |
| 尽力 | jìnlì | to strive one's hardest; to spare no effort |
| 力气 | lìqi | physical strength |
| 精力 | jīnglì | energy (physical or mental) |
| 智力 | zhìlì | intelligence; intellect |
| 有力 | yǒulì | powerful; forceful |
Questions about 努力
What does 努力 mean?
努力 (nǔlì) means "to make an effort; to try hard; to strive; hard-working; conscientious" and is used as a adjective.
How do you write 努力?
努力 is made of 2 characters: 努 (7 strokes), 力 (2 strokes). That is 9 strokes in total.
Is 努力 an HSK word?
Yes. 努力 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do I say 'try your best' or 'keep it up' with 努力?
People often say 继续努力 (jìxù nǔlì), keep working hard, or 加油 (jiāyóu) together with 努力. To say do your best, use 尽力 (jìnlì) or 尽最大努力 (jìn zuì dà nǔlì).
Can 努力 be used as a noun?
Yes. It can mean effort, as in 谢谢你的努力 (xièxie nǐ de nǔlì), thank you for your effort. It often follows verbs like 做 or 付出, as in 付出了很多努力, put in a lot of effort.