DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

拼命

Mandarin · pinyin pīn mìng

to do one's utmost; with all one's might; at all costs; (to work or fight) as if one's life depends on it

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Characters in this entry

拼: pīn · join together, link, incorporate
命: mìng · life; destiny, fate, luck; an order, instruction

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

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Mandarin tones

1–4 · pin1 ming4

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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.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 2 Cantonese readings

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ping1 ming6 · ping3 ming6

Cantonese word readings for 拼命. 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

(verb-object) to risk one's life
(verb-object) to go to great lengths to accomplish something as if one's life depended on it

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

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