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A-Do: Persevere 阿杜 堅持到底 [All the way]

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Mandarin Chinese, how to say ” We must persevere – we can’t give up halfway.” 我们一定要坚持到底，不能半途而废。 Wǒ men yīdìng yào jiānchí dào dǐ , bùnéng bàn tú ér fèi. Wǒ men (我们 pronoun, we) yīdìng (一定 adverb, definitely) yào (要 verb, have to) jiānchí (坚持 verb persist or persevere) dào (到 preposition, to) dǐ (底 noun, the end) , bùnéng (不能 verb, can’t) bàn (半 adjective, half) tú (途 noun, way, road) ér (而 transition word, and then) fèi (废 verb, give up).

Everyone dreams. Some sighted their dreams in black and white, while some in vivid colors. What is the last dream you dreamt? Several dream themes are common. Some dreams are related to school, such as taking an important exam, failing a test, got bullied by bad guys or teased by teachers. In some dreams you might get chased by criminals, runn slowly to and fro, or flee from a barking dog. You might have dreamt that a person now alive was dead, you became bald or unfortunately had a car accident.

There are so many kinds of strange dreams in our mind when we sleep. However, they are not what we are going to persevere today. The dreams that we are learning today are the things you want to achieve, the goals you desire to reach. In Chinese, we call them — mèngxiǎng 梦想.

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What is your dream? （ 你的梦想是什么？ nǐ de mèngxiǎng shì shénme？）

Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream: I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.(quote of Martin Luther King Jr., I Have a Dream, 1963 )

Everyone has dreams, so do you. What is your dream? Someone might have ambition to become president of USA, some might want to be an astronaut to travel outer space, some aspire to become the greatest architect of the world, some might want to marry the one who he or she loves and have a happy family, some might wish to play video games all day without any interruption, and some might dream to overcome the world hunger and bring peace to the world.

No matter your dream is big or small, attainable or impossible. As long as you try to do it, there are some chances that you will succeed. Yes, succeed is the key word in our post today. What should we do to succeed in what we are pursuing? There are many facts that decide whether or not you can reach your dream. The most important one is positive and persistent attitude: Always persevere, and never give up mid way.

How to express this determination in Chinese? The followings are some common phrases that you can use to state your eagerness and determination about working soul hard to achieve your dream goals at all costs.

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不要放弃
不要[bú yào] 放弃[fàng qì]
不要[bú yào, don’t] 放弃[fàng qì, give up]
Don’t give up.

永不放弃
永[yǒng] 不[bù] 放弃[fàng qì]
永[yǒng, forever] 不[bù, not] 放弃[fàng qì, give up]
Never give up.

坚持到底
坚持[jiān chí] 到底[dào dǐ]
坚持[jiān chí, verb, to persist in] 到 [dào, to] 底[dǐ, the end]
Persist to the end. (literally)
Follow through.
Stick it out.

不达目的绝不终止
不[bù] 达[dá] 目的[mù dì] 绝不[jué bù] 终止[zhōng zhǐ]
不[bù, not] 达[dá, reach] 目的[mù dì, goal] 绝不[jué bù, absolutely not] 终止[zhōng zhǐ, stop]
Never give up until the goal is reached .
Persevere to the end and never stop short of the goal.

不到黄河心不死
不[bù] 到[dào] 黄河[huáng hé] 心[xīn] 不[bù] 死[sǐ]
不[bù, not] 到[dào, reach] 黄河[huáng hé, Yellow River] 心[xīn, heart] 不[bù, not] 死[sǐ, die]
Not reach the Yellow River the heart won’t die.
Until all is over ambition never dies.
Never stop until one reaches one’s goal.
Refuse to give up until all hope is gone
Struggles until the last minute.

永不低头
永[yǒng] 不[bù] 低[dī] 头[tóu]
永[yǒng, never] 不[bù, won’t] 低[dī, lower] 头[tóu, head]
Never admit defeat.
Never give up.

贯彻始终
贯彻[guàn chè] 始终[shǐ zhōng]
贯彻[guàn chè, go through or penetrate] 始终[shǐ zhōng, from start to the end]
To follow through.
To carry through to the end.

Dear readers, no matter what your dream goals might be,

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你应该坚持的理想,不要放弃.
你[nǐ] 应该[yīng gāi] 坚持[jiān chí] 的[de] 理想[lǐ xiǎng] ,不要[bú yào] 放弃[fàng qì]
你[nǐ, you] 应该[yīng gāi, should] 坚持[jiān chí, to persist in ] 的[de connecting particle] 理想[lǐ xiǎng, dream goals or ideals] ,不要[bú yào, don’t] 放弃[fàng qì, give up]
You should persist in your dream goals and never give up!

There are a lot of determination and persistence phrases and usages you can find in this song. Learn the song well, you will be able to speak in Chinese fluently and expertly on this topic — never give up.

坚持到底
Jian chi dao di
Persist to the end
Persevere to the end

阿杜
A Du
A Do
Do Cheng Yi

[audio:http://www.chinesetolearn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/A-Do_-Persevere-All-the-way.mp3|titles=A-Do_ Persevere ?? ???? [All the way]

在水里 在火里
zai4 shui3 li3, zai4 huo3 li3
In water, in fire

我的爱不偏不倚
wo3 de5 ai4 bu4 pian1 bu4 yi3
My love is unbiased (不偏不倚 means: not lean on this, not incline on that either)

就算时光倒回去
jiu4 suan4 shi1 guang1 dao4 hui2 qu4
Even the time goes back

我也追到石器世纪
wo3 ye3 zhui1 dao4 shi2 qi4 shi2 ji4
I will even pursue you to the Neolithic Century

在风里 在雨里
zai4 feng1 li3, zai4 yu3 li3
In wind, in rains

你的雨伞吹翻过去
ni3 de5 yu3 san3 chui1 fan1 guo4 qu4
Your umbrella got blown upside down

我绝对毫不犹豫
wo3 jue2 dui4 hao2 bu4 you2 yu4
I absolutely will not hesitate a bit

为你披上我的外衣
wei4 ni3 pi1 shang4 wo3 de5 wai4 yi1
I will cover you with my coat

是你让我看透生命这东西
shi4 ni3 rang4 wo3 kan4 tou4 sheng1 ming4 zhe4 dong1 xi5
It is you that let me see through life, this matter

四个字 坚持到底
si4 ge4 zi4, jian1 chi2 dao4 di3
Four words: Persist to the end

如果没有你
ru2 guo3 mei2 you3 ni3
If there is no you

我的生活回到一片狼藉
wo3 de5 sheng1 huo2 hui2 dao4 yi2 pian4 lang2 jie2
My life would return to the totally disorder mess

是你让我翻破爱情的秘笈
shi4 ni3 rang4 wo3 fan1 po4 ai4 qing2 de5 mi4 ji2
It is you who let me rummage through the secret book of love

四个字 坚持到底
si4 ge4 zi4, jian1 chi2 dao4 di3
Four words: Persist to the end

不管有多苦
bu4 guan3 you3 duo1 ku3
No matter how bitter

我会全心全力
wo3 hui4 quan2 xin1 quan2 li4
With all heart and all mighty, I will

爱你到底
ai4 ni3 dao4 di3
Love you to the end

在风里 在雨里
zai4 feng1 li3, zai4 yu3 li3
In the wind, in the rains

你的雨伞吹翻过去
ni3 de5 yu3 san3 chui1 fan1 guo4 qu4
Your umbrella got blown upside down (by wind)

我绝对毫不犹豫
wo3 jue2 dui4 hao2 bu4 you2 yu4
I absolutely will not hesitate a bit

为你披上我的外衣
wei4 ni3 pi1 shang4 wo3 de5 wai4 yi1
I will cover you with my coat

是你让我看透生命这东西
shi4 ni3 rang4 wo3 kan4 tou4 sheng1 ming4 zhe4 dong1 xi5
It is you that let me see through life, this matter

四个字 坚持到底
si4 ge4 zi4, jian1 chi2 dao4 di3
Four words: Persist to the end

如果没有你
ru2 guo3 mei2 you3 ni3
If there is no you

我的生活回到一片狼藉
wo3 de5 sheng1 huo2 hui2 dao4 yi2 pian4 lang2 jie2
My life would return to the totally disorder mess

是你让我翻破爱情的秘笈
shi4 ni3 rang4 wo3 fan1 po4 ai4 qing2 de5 mi4 ji2
It is you who let me rummage through the secret book of love

四个字 坚持到底
si4 ge4 zi4, jian1 chi2 dao4 di3
Four words: Persist to the end

不管有多苦
bu4 guan3 you3 duo1 ku3
No matter how bitter

我会全心全力
wo3 hui4 quan2 xin1 quan2 li4
With all heart and all mighty, I will

爱你到底
ai4 ni3 dao4 di3
Love you to the end

当你看进我的眼里
dang1 ni3 kan4 jin4 wo3 de5 yan3 li3
When you see into inner of my eyes

我的心颤抖不已
wo3 de5 xin1 chan4 dou3 bu4 yi3
My heart could not help but tremble uncontrollably

你竟然温柔的说一句
ni3 jing3 ran4 wen1 rou2 de5 shuo1 yi2 ju4
To my surprise, you tenderly said one sentence

感觉累的时候
gan3 jue2 lei4 de5 shi2 hou4
When you feel tired

让我抱紧
rang4 wo3 bao4 jin3
Let me embrace you tightly

是你让我看透生命这东西
shi4 ni3 rang4 wo3 kan4 tou4 sheng1 ming4 zhe4 dong1 xi5
It is you that let me see through life, this matter

四个字 坚持到底
si4 ge4 zi4, jian1 chi2 dao4 di3
Four words: Persist to the end

如果没有你
ru2 guo3 mei2 you3 ni3
If there is no you

我的生活回到一片狼藉
wo3 de5 sheng1 huo2 hui2 dao4 yi2 pian4 lang2 jie2
My life would return to the totally disorder mess

是你让我翻破爱情的秘笈
shi4 ni3 rang4 wo3 fan1 po4 ai4 qing2 de5 mi4 ji2
It is you who let me rummage through the secret book of love

四个字 坚持到底
si4 ge4 zi4, jian1 chi2 dao4 di3
Four words: Persist to the end

不管有多苦
bu4 guan3 you3 duo1 ku3
No matter how bitter

我会全心全力
wo3 hui4 quan2 xin1 quan2 li4
With all heart and all mighty, I will

坚持到底
jian1 chi2 dao4 di3
Persist to the end …

Translated by Shu

A Do background information:

Do Cheng Yi 杜成义 / 杜成義, popularly known as A-Do (阿杜), is a singer from Singapore.
He used to be a construction foreman who was spotted by Singaporean producer Billy Koh in his company’s talent search.

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