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精一杯 (seiippai) Japanese meaning: one's best | Kotomora
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This is the best I can do right now.
He answered with his best possible smile.
Usage patterns 〈 事こと 〉 が 精せい 一いっ 杯ぱい だ that's about the most (one) can manage
Getting by on my current salary is about the most I can manage.
精せい 一いっ 杯ぱい の 〈 物もの 〉 the best (something) one can manage
I greeted them with the best smile I could manage.
精せい 一いっ 杯ぱい 〈 動どう 詞し 〉 to do something with all one's might
I have no regrets because I did my absolute best.
精せい 一いっ 杯ぱい 生い きる to live life to the fullest
I want to live each day to the fullest.
Kanji 杯 counter for cupfuls, wine glass, glass Related words· 7 全力 emphasizes using all of one's physical strength or power in an objective, often competitive sense, while 精一杯 stresses doing the best one personally can within one's own limits.
一生懸命 conveys earnest, almost desperate effort as if one's life depended on it, whereas 精一杯 simply means doing the maximum one is capable of.
最善 is a more formal word for the best possible course of action or result, while 精一杯 focuses on the personal effort exerted rather than the outcome.
精一杯 emphasizes giving one's full effort with a positive, encouraging tone, while 精々 in this sense can also sound flat or even sarcastic.
Show 3 more 力一杯 emphasizes using all one's physical strength or force, while 精一杯 emphasizes doing the best one can within one's ability or situation.
精一杯 is a softer, everyday way to say 'as much as one can', while 渾身 has a heavier, more forceful and literary tone.
できるだけ means 'as much as possible' in a general sense, while 精一杯 emphasizes putting in one's utmost personal effort.
Etymology Formed from 精 “energy, strength” and 一杯 “the fullest extent.” It denotes expending all one’s available energy or reaching the limit of one’s capacity.