努力
doryoku[do̞ɾʲo̞kɯ̟]
In Japanese, "hard work" is expressed as 努力 (doryoku).
努力 refers to hard work, effort or the act of striving towards a goal. It is used to describe the positive, proactive application of energy toward an objective. To describe a person who is a "hard worker" or someone who makes a lot of effort, you can add the suffix 家 to the noun to get 努力家. If you want to describe working steadily or persistently, you might use 地道に. For expressing the idea of giving one's all or putting in maximum effort, the expression 一生懸命 is used. To say someone is working hard or doing their best in an informal context, you can use 頑張ってる.
Meaning: something requiring lots of effort to do (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word 努力 is composed of the characters 努 (endeavor) and 力 (power/strength).
How does it change in a sentence?
To use 努力 as a verb meaning "to work hard" or "to make an effort," you add the verb する to the noun, resulting in 努力する.
How do you pronounce it?
doryoku
Did you know?
- The phrase 一生懸命, used for putting in maximum effort, contains a character that means 'one's whole life' and another that means 'earnest'. It originally referred to the dangerous duty of protecting a temple's life-giving flame.
- The suffix 家 in 努力家 (doryokuka) does not mean 'house', but rather refers to a person with a specific professional or inherent quality, similar to 'artist' or 'specialist'.
- The character 力 in 努力 means 'power' and resembles a muscular arm. This same character appears in the word 力士 (rikishi), which refers to a sumo wrestler.
Examples in context
- 私たちは、彼の成功は才能よりも努力によるものだと考える。We attribute his success more to hard work than to genius.This sentence is useful for attributing success to hard work rather than talent.Tatoeba #165289 by KK_kaku_, translation #249217 by CK
- 長年にわたる努力が実を結び、トムは司法試験に合格することができました。Tom's many years of hard work paid off, and he was able to pass the bar exam.This sentence shows how years of hard work can lead to success, such as passing an exam.Tatoeba #10548204 by small_snow, translation #11902588 by pip
- 彼の努力に頭が下がる。I take my hat off to him for his hard work.This sentence is a way to show respect or admiration for someone's hard work.Tatoeba #116449 by mookeee, translation #287220 by CM
- 大学生活が忙しいけど、頑張ってるよ！University life is busy, but I'm working hard!
- 彼女は一生懸命勉強しているよ。She is studying hard.
- 彼は地道に努力しているね。He is working hard persistently.
- チームメンバーの皆様の精励に感謝申し上げます。I would like to express my gratitude for the team members' hard work.
- 会社での努力が認められました。My hard work at the company was recognized.
- 彼女は勤勉で真面目な学生です。She is a diligent and serious student.
- 5 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
A student is talking to a teacher about a competition.
- 大翔 Hiroto結果には努力が必要ですよね。kekka ni wa doryoku ga hitsuyou desu yo ne.Hard work is necessary for results, isn't it?
- 美咲 Misakiはい、その通りです。hai, sono toori desu.Yes, that is exactly right.
- 大翔 Hiroto美咲先生、もっと頑張ります。Misaki sensei, motto ganbarimasu.Teacher Misaki, I will work even harder.
- 美咲 Misaki大翔君の努力を応援しています。Hiroto-kun no doryoku o ouen shite imasu.I am rooting for your hard work, Hiroto.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 努力, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
