爭分奪秒 zhēng fēn duó miǎo

DEFINITIONS

  1. lit. fight minutes, snatch seconds (idiom); a race against time
  2. making every second count

CHARACTERS

爭 zhēng to dispute, fight, contend, strive
分 fēn
HSK 1
divide; small unit of time etc.
奪 duó take by force, rob, snatch
秒 miǎo
HSK 4
beard of grain or corn; a second