分秒必争

分秒必爭

fēnmiǎo-bìzhēng

idiom #33,054

Meanings

1 to make every second count
2 to race against time

Characters

Examples

HSK 2

考试时要分秒必争。

Kǎoshì shí yào fēnmiǎo-bìzhēng.

During an exam, every second counts.

HSK 6

救灾工作分秒必争。

Jiùzāi gōngzuò fēnmiǎo-bìzhēng.

Disaster relief is a race against time.

Tips

history

From 《晋书·陶侃传》 - the Jin dynasty general Tao Kan said that Yu the Great treasured each 寸阴 (inch of time), and ordinary people should treasure even the 分阴 (fraction). The modern phrase tightens this to seconds.

Stroke Order

分 fēn

秒 miǎo

必 bì

争 zhēng