呕心沥血

Traditional (Taiwan): 嘔心瀝血

ǒuxīnlìxuè ㄡˇ ㄒㄧㄣ ㄌㄧˋ ㄒㄩㄝˋ

    • lit. to spit out one's heart and spill blood (idiom)
    • to work one's heart out
    • blood, sweat and tears

Character by character

Synonyms and antonyms

Synonyms 近义词

Telling them apart

呕心沥血 is commendatory and describes pouring all one's energy into writing, a career or a cause. 煞费苦心 is neutral: it just means taking great pains, and the effort may be for a good or a bad purpose.

Sources