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zhēng 争 fēn 分 duó 夺 miǎo 秒

争分夺秒 zhēng fēn duó miǎo

to race against time; make every second count

Literally: fight minute seize second

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Origin

Descriptive; no single source story. Modern expression.

How to use it

Adverbial or predicate; positive. Often 争分夺秒地学习/工作.

Example sentences

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  1. 考试快到了,同学们都在争分夺秒地复习。
    Kǎoshì kuài dào le, tóngxuémen dōu zài zhēng fēn duó miǎo de fùxí.
    The exam is nearly here and the students are all revising against the clock.
    exam soon arrive (particle), classmates all (progressive) fight minute seize second (particle) review
  2. 医生们争分夺秒,终于救了病人的命。
    Yīshēngmen zhēng fēn duó miǎo, zhōngyú jiù le bìngrén de mìng.
    The doctors raced against time and finally saved the patient's life.
    doctors fight minute seize second, finally save (particle) patient (particle) life

More chengyu about time & change

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