自告奋勇

Pronunciation: zì gào fèn yǒng Literal meaning: Self-recommend with vigor and courage

Origin & Usage

To put oneself forward (自告) with vigour (奋) and courage (勇). The construction is the point: 自告 means doing the nominating yourself, which inside a hierarchy is the difficult part, and the rest of the phrase supplies what is needed to follow through once you have. It is used where nobody has been asked and something unwelcome needs doing. Chinese treats it as straightforward praise — the volunteer, the person who put a hand up for the job with no obvious reward attached to it.

Examples

English: "She volunteered to lead the difficult project."

Chinese: 她自告奋勇，主动承担这个困难的项目。