争分夺秒 zhēngfēn-duómiǎo literally fight minutes, snatch seconds
literally fight minutes, snatch seconds (idiom); a race against time; making every second count
How to remember 争分夺秒: 争 contend + 分 divide + 夺 to rob + 秒 second = literally fight minutes, snatch seconds.
Characters
How it is used
- A race against the clock - seizing every minute and second: 争分夺秒地抢救 (zhēngfēn-duómiǎo de qiǎngjiù) racing against time to save someone.
- Stresses urgency and not wasting an instant, common in emergencies, deadlines, and exams.
- Literally 'fight for minutes, snatch seconds'; use it adverbially with 地.
Example sentences
- 我们的员工正在争分夺秒地修理冰暴带来的损坏。 Wǒmen de yuángōng zhèngzài zhēngfēnduómiǎo de xiūlǐ bīngbào dàilái de sǔnhuài.Our employees are working around the clock to fix the damage caused by the ice storm.