Word

Kana: いっしょうけんめい Romaji: isshoukenmei Level: N4

一生懸命

Meaning in English

with utmost effort, very hard, earnestly

Stroke order

Animated kanji stroke order

一

Illustrated Dictionary

Translations in other languages:

Portuguese com todo esforço, com dedicação, muito sério

Spanish con mucho esfuerzo, seriamente

Korean 열심히

French de toutes ses forces, sérieusement

Italian con tutto impegno, seriamente

German mit aller Kraft, ernsthaft

Indonesian dengan sungguh-sungguh

★ Vietnamese hết sức, chăm chỉ

Thai อย่างเต็มที่, ตั้งใจมาก

Dictionary

Word context

What it means

A phrase meaning to exert oneself with all one’s energy; it describes performing a task with unwavering dedication and diligence, often used to express trying as hard as possible.

Main meanings

emphasizes putting all one's energy into a task
conveys wholehearted, diligent effort rather than a casual attempt
often used to describe study, work, sports, or crafts requiring persistence
can function as an adverbial modifier for verbs in sentences

How to use it

Used before verbs to describe how an action is performed; common in both casual and formal speech, with variants including 一生懸命に勉強する or 一生懸命勉強する, depending on style and emphasis.

Variants and close terms

精一杯 (seiippai) — maximum effort
全力を尽くす (zenryoku wo tsukusu) — to spare no effort
全力投球 (zenryoku toukyuu) — give it your best shot

Composition

一生 — lifetime, one's entire life
懸命 — earnest effort, with life at stake
Combination — devoting one's life energy to a task; extreme effort

Etymology

isshōkenmei is a compound formed by combining 一生 (いっしょう) lifetime and 懸命 (けんめい) earnest effort; in compounds the readings fuse to produce the common pronunciation.

Origin

Meiji period onward; usage spread widely in modern Japanese and everyday speech, reinforcing the notion of giving maximum effort in any task.

Word class

expression (慣用句)

Related words by kanji and components

N2 懸命 kemmei eagerness, strenuous N3 生命 seimei life, vital existence N3 一生 isshou whole life, lifetime N1 再生 saisei playback, regeneration, resuscitation N1 懸賞 kenshou offering prizes, winning, reward N1 生臭い namagusai smelling of fish or blood, fish or meat N1 生温い namanurui lukewarm, halfhearted N1 生身 namami living flesh, flesh and blood, the quick N1 任命 nimmei appointment, nomination, ordination

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