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賣力

简卖力 · 繁賣力

Mandarin · pinyin mài lì

to work hard
to do one's very best
to throw oneself into the task at hand

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Characters in this entry

賣: Look up this written character
力: lì · power, capability, influence; Kangxi radical 19
卖: mài · sell; betray; show off

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–4 · mai4 li4

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

賣力 · find source passages ↗ · 卖力 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

maai6 lik6

Cantonese word readings for 賣力. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

verb

to strive one's hardest; to spare no effort; to do one's utmost
to work as a labourer; to do manual labour for a living

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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