殚精竭虑

殫精竭慮

dānjīngjiélǜ

idiom #50,368

Meanings

1 to exhaust one's mind and thought (idiom)
2 to rack one's brains; to leave no stone unturned

Characters

to exhaust; use up

essence; mental energy

thought; consideration

Examples

为了这个项目，他殚精竭虑好几个月。

Wèile zhège xiàngmù, tā dānjīngjiélǜ hǎo jǐ gè yuè.

For this project he racked his brains for several months.

父母为孩子的教育殚精竭虑。

Fùmǔ wèi háizi de jiàoyù dānjīngjiélǜ.

Parents exhaust every mental effort for their children's education.

Tips

history

From Bai Juyi's 《策林·策头》: '殚思极虑，以尽微臣献言之道乎' — 'I exhaust thought and mental effort to fulfill my humble duty of offering counsel.' The idiom carries the Tang scholar-official's sense of devoted intellectual labor.

Stroke Order

殚 dān

精 jīng

竭 jié

虑 lǜ