孜孜不倦
zī zī bù juàn
diligently and tirelessly
Character by character
孜zī
diligent
diligent
孜zī
diligent
diligent
不bù
not
not
倦juàn
tire
tire
Example
爷爷退休后孜孜不倦地练书法，十年没停过一天。
Since retiring, Grandpa has practised calligraphy tirelessly, without missing a day in ten years.
Tone: positive (praise).
Usage and origin
Of study, research or teaching, usually as 孜孜不倦地 + verb or 孜孜不倦的精神. Written and admiring; compare Confucius’s 学而不厌，诲人不倦. 孜孜不倦 stresses keeping at it for years; 废寝忘食 stresses intensity, so absorbed that meals and sleep are forgotten.
Learn this in Lesson 158 · HSK 7–9: 青蒿素 (Artemisinin: from an old recipe to a Nobel Prize)
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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