鞠躬尽瘁，死而后已

Traditional form:

鞠躬盡瘁，死而後已

Pinyin (reading):

jūgōngjìncuì,sǐ'érhòuyǐ

Definitions:

• to bend to a task and spare no effort unto one's dying day (idiom); striving to the utmost one's whole life
• with every breath in one's body, unto one's dying day

Characters:

• 鞠 - to bow, to bend; to nourish, to rear
• 躬 - to bow; personally, in person; oneself
• 尽 - to exhaust, to use up, to deplete
• 瘁 - tired, worn-out; sick; overworked
• 死 - dead; death; impassable, inflexible
• 而 - and, and then, and yet; but
• 后 - after; behind, rear; descendants
• 已 - already; finished; to stop; then, afterwards

Traditional characters:

• 鞠 - to bow, to bend; to nourish, to rear
• 躬 - to bow; personally, in person; oneself
• 盡 - to exhaust, to use up, to deplete
• 瘁 - tired, worn-out; sick; overworked
• 死 - dead; death; impassable, inflexible
• 而 - and, and then, and yet; but
• 後 - after; behind, rear; descendants
• 已 - already; finished; to stop; then, afterwards