Strive to achieve something


I am having a hard time express the concept of _striving to achieve
something_. I found a video of a monk online using the word 励む, but I am not
sure exactly how to use it.

It seems it pairs with nouns as in

> 勉強に励む

But what if I want to pair it with a verb? Is this acceptable?

> 目的を達成するに励ます

Or, I was thinking perhaps:

> 目的を達成するために励ます

Or else, how would you express this concept?




First, I will talk about how to use 「[励]{はげ}む」 and later on, other possible
expressions.

> Both 「[勉強]{べんきょう}に励む」 and 「[勉学]{べんがく}に励む」 sound natural with the latter
> being more formal or "adult-speaker-like".

Next, how to combine 励む with other verbs.

You used 「励ます」, which is a transitive verb meaning "to encourage someone to do
something". You cannot use it to talk about how you are striving to achieve
something yourself. (Or was it meant to be the ます-form of 励ます, which is 励みます?
If so, you need a み in there.)

> You can say all of the below：
>
> 「[目的]{もくてき}を[達成]{たっせい}するよう（に）励んでいます。」
>
> 「目的を達成できるよう（に）励んでいます。」
>
> 「目的を達成するため（に）励んでいます。」

Native speakers use 「励んでいます」 100% of the time if you have already been trying.
If you say 「励みます」, it will sound like you have not started making the efforts
and you are talking about doing so in the (near) future. This is a common
mistake among Japanese-learners. They tend to end up using the "present" tense
because they translate directly from their first language --- "I strive to
achieve A and B.".

Finally, some other verb choices besides 「励む」.

> 「[精]{せい}を[出]{だ}す」、「[奮闘]{ふんとう}する」、「[努]{つと}める」, etc. The last one is kind of
> weak in meaning.

Colloquially, you can use 「やっきになる」, but to use it properly, your other words
will need to sound colloquial and natural as well.




First, I will talk about how to use 「[励]{はげ}む」 and later on, other possible
expressions.

> Both 「[勉強]{べんきょう}に励む」 and 「[勉学]{べんがく}に励む」 sound natural with the latter
> being more formal or "adult-speaker-like".

Next, how to combine 励む with other verbs.

You used 「励ます」, which is a transitive verb meaning "to encourage someone to do
something". You cannot use it to talk about how you are striving to achieve
something yourself. (Or was it meant to be the ます-form of 励ます, which is 励みます?
If so, you need a み in there.)

> You can say all of the below：
>
> 「[目的]{もくてき}を[達成]{たっせい}するよう（に）励んでいます。」
>
> 「目的を達成できるよう（に）励んでいます。」
>
> 「目的を達成するため（に）励んでいます。」

Native speakers use 「励んでいます」 100% of the time if you have already been trying.
If you say 「励みます」, it will sound like you have not started making the efforts
and you are talking about doing so in the (near) future. This is a common
mistake among Japanese-learners. They tend to end up using the "present" tense
because they translate directly from their first language --- "I strive to
achieve A and B.".

Finally, some other verb choices besides 「励む」.

> 「[精]{せい}を[出]{だ}す」、「[奮闘]{ふんとう}する」、「[努]{つと}める」, etc. The last one is kind of
> weak in meaning.

Colloquially, you can use 「やっきになる」, but to use it properly, your other words
will need to sound colloquial and natural as well.

