想方设法 (xiǎng fāng shè fǎ)

Character breakdown

• 想 (xiǎng) · 13 strokes

  Phonosemantic compound. 心 represents the meaning and 相 represents the sound.

• 方 (Fāng) · 4 strokes

  Depicts the cutting edge (一) of a knife blade (刀). Similar in origin to 亡. Based on the original meaning "cutting edge". The meaning later expanded to "perimeter", "area", and "square".

• 设 (shè) · 6 strokes

  Depicts the process of setting something up using speech (讠) and a hand holding a tool (殳).

• 法 (fǎ) · 8 strokes

  Phonosemantic compound. 氵 represents the meaning and 去 represents the sound. Originally written as 灋.

Usage

他想方设法地筹集资金。

to think up every possible method (idiom); to devise ways and means; to try this, that and the other

tā xiǎng fāng shè fǎ dì chóu jí zī jīn 。