呕心沥血
ǒu xīn lì xuè
to pour one’s heart and soul into something
Character by character
呕ǒu
vomit
vomit
心xīn
heart
heart
沥lì
drip
drip
血xuè
blood
blood
Example
为了编好这部词典，几位老先生呕心沥血，干了整整二十年。
To get the dictionary right, a few old scholars poured their hearts into it for twenty whole years.
Tone: positive (praise).
Usage and origin
Usually 为…呕心沥血, of a lifetime’s devotion to a cause, a work or other people. 呕心 comes from the Tang poet 李贺 (the poet behind 石破天惊, lesson 5-24), whose mother said he would not stop writing until he had coughed up his heart; 沥血 is to shed blood drop by drop. Too heavy for everyday effort: not for a weekend’s homework.
Learn this in Lesson 127 · HSK 7–9: 送别袁隆平 (Obituary: farewell to Yuan Longping)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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