CYChengyu Dictionary

Chengyu meaning

精卫填海 (jīng wèi tián hǎi)

determined persistence against a huge task

Plain Answer

Source: Shan Hai Jing mythological story tradition. Treated here as classical story; read it first as a sentence-level judgment.

Core meaning: 精卫填海 means determined persistence against a huge task: Used to praise stubborn persistence and moral resolve when a task is enormous and may take far more than one person's effort.

Practice this meaningRead the story
Label
positive / formal story-based
Best objects
cultural preservation, long project, register boundary
Do not use when
Do not use 精卫填海 for a scene that only shares one surface word with the meaning. If the problem is closer to 锲而不舍 or the contrast points toward 半途而废, choose that nearby entry instead of stretching this one.

Use: Use 精卫填海 when the cultural preservation sentence shows the object, cause, and tone clearly. Avoid: Avoid 精卫填海 when the sentence only sounds related, lacks evidence, or needs a plainer word.

cultural preservation修复一门濒危语言像精卫填海，需要一代又一代人接力。Xiufu yi men binwei yuyan xiang jing wei tian hai, xuyao yi dai you yi dai ren jieli.Reviving an endangered language is like Jingwei filling the sea; it requires generations of persistence.

Next: Read the examples, then compare 锲而不舍 before practicing 精卫填海 in the focused quiz.

Often studied with: 锲而不舍, 水滴石穿, 百折不挠

Read This First

精卫填海 is introduced here through a classical story tradition retold for modern learners; the source label is Shan Hai Jing mythological story tradition, and the page separates that background from modern sentence choice.

精卫填海 means determined persistence against a huge task. The important first reading is Used to praise stubborn persistence and moral resolve when a task is enormous and may take far more than one person's effort. This is a positive phrase in normal use, so the sentence must show the judgment clearly.

Use 精卫填海 when the object, cause, and tone match examples such as cultural preservation, long project, register boundary; then compare 锲而不舍 and 水滴石穿 before writing your own sentence.

Avoid 精卫填海 when the sentence only shares a broad topic, when the tone would be unfair to the person being described, or when a plainer word would be clearer than a chengyu.

Start with this cue: cultural preservation plus a visible reason.

Meaning and Translation Notes

Used to praise stubborn persistence and moral resolve when a task is enormous and may take far more than one person's effort.

Literal meaning

Jingwei fills the sea

  • 精卫 / the bird Jingwei
  • 填海 / fill the sea

English equivalents

  • persist against a huge task near

    Use this when a huge, long, and morally meaningful task is met with stubborn persistence.

  • unyielding determination plain

    unyielding determination is natural, while Jingwei filling the sea is best when the story is being taught

  • keep working at the impossible sea plain

    This is safer when the audience needs the meaning without extra cultural explanation.

How To Use It

Use 精卫填海 when the reader can see why determined persistence against a huge task is the exact judgment, not just the topic. A strong sentence names the actor, the thing being judged, and the evidence that makes this idiom more precise than an ordinary adjective.

  • Use it when a huge, long, and morally meaningful task is met with stubborn persistence.
  • The tone is solemn and determined, so the surrounding sentence should make the judgment visible.
  • It works in cultural preservation, long project, register boundary contexts when the boundary is clear.

Common Mistakes

Do not use 精卫填海 for a scene that only shares one surface word with the meaning. If the problem is closer to 锲而不舍 or the contrast points toward 半途而废, choose that nearby entry instead of stretching this one.

  • Do not use it when the task is small, routine, or only a short burst of effort.
  • Do not choose it only because the English gloss "persist against a huge task" feels close; compare qie-er-bu-she first.

Wrong Use Clinic

The most useful check is often the phrase you should reject.

  1. The learner wants to sound more idiomatic but has only a broad topic match for 精卫填海.

    The sentence drops in 精卫填海 without showing the cause, object, or tone that would make the idiom necessary.

    Fix: Rewrite the sentence so the evidence for determined persistence against a huge task appears before or after the phrase.

    精卫填海 fails in this case because a chengyu is not decoration; it must name the exact judgment the sentence is making.

    Compare qie er bu she

  2. The learner wants to say the opposite or a neighboring idea and chooses 精卫填海 because it feels familiar.

    The sentence uses 精卫填海, but the described situation points to a different cause, time point, or social attitude.

    Fix: Compare the sentence with 半途而废 and choose the phrase whose boundary explains the situation with less force.

    精卫填海 becomes misleading when the nearby phrase would identify the real problem more cleanly.

    Compare ban tu er fei

  3. The learner has the right meaning area for 精卫填海 but ignores register and emotional force.

    The sentence uses 精卫填海 directly about a person, yet gives no softening context or evidence for such a solemn and determined judgment.

    Fix: Add the observed behavior first, or choose 水滴石穿 if the sentence needs a gentler learning path.

    精卫填海 can sound heavier than a short English gloss. The reader needs enough context to see why the tone is fair.

    Compare shui di shi chuan

  4. The learner remembers the origin image of 精卫填海 but applies it to the wrong object.

    The sentence names an image or story detail, but the real object being judged would be better explained by another chengyu.

    Fix: Name the object first. If the object points toward 好逸恶劳, use that contrast instead.

    精卫填海 should follow the judgment, not the most memorable image. Story memory is useful only when it supports the sentence-level decision.

    Compare hao yi wu lao

Chengyu Often Studied Together

Use these clusters to build sentence-level judgment instead of memorizing a single gloss.

  1. 精卫填海 with nearby learner choices

    精卫填海 is often studied beside 锲而不舍 and 水滴石穿 because the words share a theme while asking the learner to judge a different cause, tone, or timing.

    老师先让学生解释精卫填海，再比较锲而不舍和水滴石穿，这样不会只凭英文近义词选答案。

    qie er bu sheshui di shi chuan

  2. 精卫填海 with contrast checks

    精卫填海 becomes easier to use when it is contrasted with 百折不挠 and 半途而废; the contrast forces the writer to decide whether the sentence is praise, warning, correction, or neutral description.

    写作练习里先用精卫填海造句，再换成百折不挠，观察判断方向怎样改变。

    bai zhe bu naoban tu er feiqie er bu she

  3. 精卫填海 in example-building drills

    精卫填海 should be practiced with 锲而不舍 and 百折不挠 because examples reveal whether the learner is choosing by meaning, tone, or only by a remembered image.

    课堂上先用精卫填海写一个有证据的句子，再换成锲而不舍或百折不挠说明判断为什么改变。

    qie er bu shebai zhe bu naoshui di shi chuan

  4. 精卫填海 in story and source review

    精卫填海 links best with 水滴石穿 and 半途而废 when the learner is checking whether a source image truly supports a modern sentence.

    复习出处时，不要只背精卫填海的故事，还要比较水滴石穿，看哪个成语更能解释现代句子。

    shui di shi chuanban tu er feiqie er bu she

Learner Guide

Use these notes when deciding whether this chengyu fits a real sentence.

Use 精卫填海 when a huge, long, and morally meaningful task is met with stubborn persistence. This first test keeps the phrase from spreading across every nearby topic. Before using it, identify the speaker, the object being judged, and the reason a plain word would miss the Chinese nuance.

For English translation, unyielding determination is natural, while Jingwei filling the sea is best when the story is being taught. Do not choose an English phrase only because it sounds idiomatic. The translation should preserve tone, register, and the situation logic before it tries to sound compact.

The main misuse risk is when the task is small, routine, or only a short burst of effort. That boundary matters because chengyu often share a theme while judging different causes, time points, or social attitudes. A nearby phrase can be familiar and still be wrong.

Before using it in your own sentence, show the huge scale, the repeated action, and why persistence remains meaningful despite difficulty. Then compare the sentence with qie-er-bu-she and shui-di-shi-chuan. If one nearby entry explains the situation with less force or more precision, choose that entry instead.

Before using 精卫填海, write the plain English idea first. If the plain sentence already says everything naturally, the chengyu must add a sharper judgment, cultural image, or tone. If it does not add one of those, leave the plain wording alone.

A good 精卫填海 sentence contains an object and evidence. The object is the person, plan, habit, result, or scene being judged. The evidence is the reason the phrase fits. Without both parts, the idiom may look learned but feel empty.

Compare 精卫填海 with 锲而不舍 and 半途而废 before finalizing a sentence. The goal is not to memorize synonyms; the goal is to reject the wrong phrase for a clear reason. That rejection is what turns recognition into usable knowledge.

When teaching or self-reviewing 精卫填海, ask the learner to mark source, meaning, use case, wrong case, and one example. If any mark is missing, return to the entry section that supplies it rather than guessing from the headword alone.

cultural preservation is the first test zone for 精卫填海, but it is not the only possible use. Before using the phrase, name the speaker, the object being judged, and the nearest tested context: cultural preservation, long project, register boundary, usage boundary, misuse boundary, comparison check, context setup, teacher correction. Then choose among persist against a huge task, unyielding determination, keep working at the impossible sea as translation candidates and reject at least one candidate out loud. A useful final check is to compare the sentence with qie-er-bu-she and shui-di-shi-chuan; if one of those nearby entries explains the situation with less strain, the nearby phrase is the better learner choice.

When 精卫填海 is translated as persist against a huge task, the English should still preserve the phrase's tone. Keep solemn and determined and the effort use area visible when the audience is still learning the idiom. If a short translation hides the warning "Do not use it when the task is small, routine, or only a short burst of effort.", choose a fuller English explanation instead. This matters because the strongest chengyu pages should help readers decide when not to use the most convenient English equivalent.

Example Sentences

Each example labels the situation so you can choose a natural English translation.

cultural preservation

修复一门濒危语言像精卫填海，需要一代又一代人接力。

Xiufu yi men binwei yuyan xiang jing wei tian hai, xuyao yi dai you yi dai ren jieli.

Reviving an endangered language is like Jingwei filling the sea; it requires generations of persistence.

long project

她每天记录一个方言词，虽然慢，却有精卫填海的精神。

Ta meitian jilu yi ge fangyan ci, suiran man, que you jing wei tian hai de jingshen.

She records one dialect word every day. It is slow, but it has the spirit of determined persistence.

register boundary

精卫填海很重，不适合普通坚持打卡的小目标。

Jing wei tian hai hen zhong, bu shihe putong jianchi daka de xiao mubiao.

精卫填海 is heavy in tone; it does not fit an ordinary small habit goal.

usage boundary

只有原因和语气都清楚时，这句话才适合用精卫填海。

zhi you yuan yin he yu qi dou qing chu shi zhe ju hua cai shi he yong jing wei tian hai

Only use 精卫填海 when the cause and tone are both clear, not just because the topic feels nearby.

misuse boundary

如果只是普通情况，不要为了显得有文化而硬说精卫填海。

ru guo zhi shi pu tong qing kuang bu yao wei le xian de you wen hua er ying shuo jing wei tian hai

If the situation is ordinary, do not force 精卫填海 just to make the sentence sound more cultured.

comparison check

比较近义成语以后，再决定这里是不是应该写精卫填海。

bi jiao jin yi cheng yu yi hou zai jue ding zhe li shi bu shi ying gai xie jing wei tian hai

After comparing nearby chengyu, decide whether 精卫填海 is really the phrase the sentence needs.

context setup

这段话先说明对象和原因，所以精卫填海读起来不突兀。

zhe duan hua xian shuo ming dui xiang he yuan yin suo yi jing wei tian hai du qi lai bu tu wu

The passage names the object and cause first, so 精卫填海 does not feel abrupt.

teacher correction

老师让学生先解释为什么不用别的词，再用精卫填海造句。

lao shi rang xue sheng xian jie shi wei shen me bu yong bie de ci zai yong jing wei tian hai zao ju

The teacher asks students to explain why another phrase would be wrong before writing a sentence with 精卫填海.

Story and Cultural Context

精卫填海 comes from the myth of the bird Jingwei carrying twigs and stones to fill the sea. The image is intentionally vast, almost impossible, and morally charged. Modern learners usually need the phrase as a decision tool. It tells them when a situation has crossed a specific boundary, not merely which English word looks similar. In the examples here, the phrase is tested against cultural preservation, long project, register boundary so the reader can see how the meaning changes with use. The safest reading is to keep the image, the tone, and the social situation together. 精卫填海 comes from the myth of the bird Jingwei carrying twigs and stones to fill the sea. The image is intentionally vast, almost impossible, and morally charged. For English speakers, the useful memory is not only the literal image but the decision it makes possible. The examples test cultural preservation, long project, register boundary so the phrase remains tied to real use instead of becoming a decorative translation label. For this entry, the origin note is only the beginning of the explanation. The useful question is why 精卫填海 survived as a portable judgment rather than as a decorative allusion. The classical story route gives the reader an image, but the modern sentence must still prove its own fit. A learner should ask three things: what concrete object is being judged, what evidence in the sentence supports that judgment, and what tone the phrase adds that a plain English adjective would not add. This is why the page tests 精卫填海 through cultural preservation, long project, register boundary, usage boundary, misuse boundary; each context changes the pressure on the phrase and shows whether the idiom is acting as praise, warning, neutral description, or criticism. The story or usage background also has a translation boundary. 精卫填海 can point toward persist against a huge task, unyielding determination, keep working at the impossible sea, but those English choices are not interchangeable. One version may preserve the image, another may sound natural in a classroom answer, and another may be safer in a workplace or essay sentence. The entry therefore treats public references as source cards, not as a paragraph order to imitate. Headword checks, story labels, and English equivalents are separated first; only after that are they rebuilt into the learner path used here: answer, label, examples, wrong-use clinic, comparison, story, and practice. The most common failure is overextension. Because 精卫填海 has a memorable surface, learners may reach for it whenever a topic feels close. The better habit is to compare it with 锲而不舍 and 水滴石穿 and with 半途而废 and 好逸恶劳 before writing. If the rejected phrase is hard to reject, the sentence probably has not supplied enough evidence. If the rejected phrase is easy to reject, the learner can explain the boundary and use 精卫填海 with confidence. That is the practical purpose of the origin section: it turns cultural memory into a sentence-level decision instead of leaving the reader with a story and no next action.

Learning point: Some tasks are meaningful because persistence itself refuses surrender.

Open the dedicated story page

Editorial Notes

These notes turn the entry into a decision path, not a loose definition.

First answer before details

精卫填海 should first be read as a decision about determined persistence against a huge task, not as a collectible story label. The classical story helps memory, but the reader's real task is to decide whether the modern sentence is making a positive judgment with enough evidence. Start with the object being described, then ask what happened, who is being judged, and whether the tone is fair. If those details are missing, the idiom will feel like learned decoration rather than useful Chinese. This first-answer rule also helps teachers and translators: they can explain the phrase quickly before deciding whether a longer story, comparison, or correction block is needed.

Example clinic

The examples for 精卫填海 deliberately cover cultural preservation, long project, register boundary, usage boundary, misuse boundary because a learner needs more than one successful sentence before the phrase becomes usable. Read the Chinese sentence, then explain in plain English why this phrase is more precise than a simple adjective or loose translation. A strong example names the context, shows the evidence, and makes the tone visible. A weak example merely places the chengyu near a related topic. This habit prevents a common error: remembering the literal image but forgetting the social judgment carried by the phrase. When the example feels forced, return to the meaning line and choose a plainer wording.

Comparison boundary

Before using 精卫填海, compare it with 锲而不舍 and 水滴石穿 and, when possible, with 半途而废 and 好逸恶劳. The comparison is not a synonym game. Nearby chengyu often share effort, caution, wisdom, or evaluation as a topic, while differing in cause, timing, and emotional force. A good learner sentence can explain why the rejected phrase fails. If that explanation is impossible, the chosen idiom is probably too loose. This is also the cleanest internal-link reason: the next page exists because it helps the reader reject a tempting but wrong choice. The comparison should leave a reusable rule, not merely another link to click.

Wrong-use trigger

精卫填海 should be rejected when the sentence lacks an object, hides the reason for the judgment, or uses the idiom only because it sounds literary. The safest correction is to rewrite the sentence in plain English first, then add the chengyu only if it sharpens the meaning. If the tone becomes unfair, choose a gentler nearby phrase. If the source image is memorable but the modern object does not match, use the story only as background and do not force the idiom into the sentence. This wrong-use trigger is what keeps the entry from becoming a long but vague dictionary page.

Source synthesis note

精卫填海 uses public references as checkpoints rather than as a structure to copy. One source may help with the headword, another with a story or image, and another with English translation range. The page then rebuilds those checks into its own learner order: short answer, label, examples, misuse, collocation, guide, story, and practice. This matters because a single-source paraphrase would give readers a familiar-looking article but not a better learning tool. The editorial value here is the decision path: what to use, what not to use, what to compare, and how to test the phrase in a new sentence.

Practice This Decision

Answer a focused quiz question, then come back to the examples and misuse clinic if the near phrase feels tempting.

Start focused quizReview mistakes first