English–Chinese
“effort” in Chinese
Chinese
Pronunciation
Pinyingōng fu
Example
他为这件事花了很多工夫。tā wèi zhè jiàn shì huā le hěn duō gōng fu
He spent a lot of effort on this matter.
How to say “effort” in Chinese
“Effort” in Chinese is 工夫 (gōng fu).
Practical investment in getting a result right, including the time, energy, and know-how that the task requires.
Example sentences with 工夫
这个问题要下工夫才能解决。zhè ge wèn tí yào xià gōng fū cái néng jiě jué
You can solve this problem only by putting in effort.
Tips for using 工夫
- In everyday speech, it often appears with verbs meaning spend or put in, framing the work behind a result as a resource that can be increased, saved, or wasted.