一生懸命

Japanese

Kanji in this term
一	生	懸	命
いつ > いっ Grade: 1	しょう Grade: 1	けん Grade: S	めい Grade: 3
on’yomi

Etymology

From 一 (いっ)所 (しょ)懸 (けん)命 (めい) (isshokenmei), which referred to samurais risking their life to defend the territory inherited from ancestors.

Pronunciation

On’yomi
- (Tokyo) いっしょーけんめー [ìsshóókéꜜǹmèè] (Nakadaka – [5])[1]
- IPA^(key): [iɕːo̞ːkẽ̞mːe̞ː]

Adverb

一生懸命 (hiragana いっしょうけんめい, rōmaji isshōkenmei, historical hiragana いつしやうけんめい)

for dear life; as hard as one can; to the best of one's ability
一 (いっ)生 (しょう)懸 (けん)命 (めい)頑 (がん)張 (ば)る
isshōkenmei ganbaru
to try one's utmost hardest

References

2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

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