require effort; be difficult
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
2 senses · 6 examplesadjective
laborious; strenuous; requiring great effort
informalOften describes tasks, activities, or physical movements that are tough or tiring. The '儿' suffix is common in spoken Chinese, making it 'fèijìnr'.
Káng扛
zhè这
dài袋
mǐ米
shàng上
lóu楼
zhēn真
fèi费
jìn劲
。
Carrying this bag of rice upstairs is really strenuous.
Tuǐ腿
jiǎo脚
bù不
hǎo好
，
shàng上
lóu楼
fèi费
jìn劲
。
With bad legs, going upstairs is an effort.
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Xué学
xí习
yī一
mén门
xīn新
yǔ语
yán言
yī一
kāi开
shǐ始
hěn很
fèi费
jìn劲
。
Learning a new language is very difficult at first.
verb
to exert effort; to struggle; to take pains
informalUsed as a verb, often in the structure '费了(半天/好大)劲'. The '劲' here refers to effort or strength.
Fèi费
le了
bàn半
tiān天
jìn劲
，
yě也
méi没
yǒu有
gàn干
hǎo好
。
I struggled for a long time, but still didn't do it well.
Tā他
fèi费
le了
hěn很
dà大
jìn劲
cái才
shuō说
fú服
fù父
mǔ母
。
It took him a lot of effort to persuade his parents.
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Bié别
fèi费
nà那
ge个
jìn劲
le了
，
méi没
yòng用
de的
。
Don't bother; it's useless.