下功夫

• 拼音: xià gōng fu
• 汉字拆解: 下 = 一 + ト (apply, put in); 功 = 工 + 力 (work + strength — effort, achievement); 夫 = 二 + 人 (two strokes + person — a man, a measure of effort and time)

含义

To put in effort; to work hard at something; to invest time and energy into mastering or achieving something.

Emphasises deliberate, sustained effort and dedication. Often used in the context of learning skills, solving problems, or perfecting craft. 在……上下功夫 is a common collocational pattern meaning to focus one's efforts on a particular area.

例句

1. 学好一门外语，必须在听说读写四个方面都下功夫，缺一不可。
2. 他在围棋上下了十几年的功夫，如今已达到了职业水平。
3. 这道菜的关键在于火候，要真正做好，必须在这上面下功夫。

用法指南

语境: education, skill development, work ethic, self-improvement

语气: encouraging

正确说法

• 学琴前三级阶段要在音阶、指法和视奏上真正下功夫。(In the first three years of piano study, real effort must be put into scales, fingering, and sight-reading.)
• 创业早期最该下功夫的，是摸清用户痛点和快速验证产品。(In the early stages of a startup, the effort should go into understanding user pain points and quickly testing the product.)

错误说法

• 下功夫 for one-off tasks that require no sustained effort — it implies extended, deliberate investment of time and energy; for a quick effort use 努力一下 or 用心做; 下功夫 implies building mastery or solving something that requires persistence

起源与历史

下 (to put down, to apply) + 功夫 (skill, effort, time spent mastering something) — to apply effort; to spend time and energy developing mastery

文化背景

世代: All ages

社会背景: Universal