Word
努めて
Meaning in Englishmake an effort!, work hard!
Animated kanji stroke order
Word context
What it means
What does 努めて mean? It is the te-form of 努める, used to express doing something with effort or making an effort to perform an action, often preceding another verb.
Main meanings
- to make an effort; to strive
- to do something with effort or diligence; to try hard to
- the adverbial nuance of 'as much as possible' or 'with effort' when paired with a following verb
How to use it
Used to express that an action should be performed with effort or that one is making a conscious effort; commonly found in instruction, guidance, formal writing, and polite speech; before another verb the phrase 努めて can mean 'do your best to' or 'try to' followed by the action.
Variants and close terms
- 尽力する (jinryoku suru) — to do one's utmost
- 努力する (doryoku suru) — to make an effort
- 心掛ける (kokorogakeru) — to make it a point to; to intend
- 手を抜く (te o nuku) — to slack off
Composition
- 努: the kanji conveying effort or striving; めて shows the connective te-form, turning the verb 努める into 努めて, which signals 'do with effort' before the following verb
Etymology
努 is the kanji carrying the sense of exertion; the te-form て is added to the stem 努め to form 努めて, a native, productive conjugation that links actions and emphasizes effort rather than introducing a loanword or phonetic shift.
Word class
Verb (動詞)