The word 拼命 is formed by combining two characters: 拼, which carries the core meaning of "to exert oneself" or "to struggle", and 命, which means "life". It is a conceptual fusion where the idea of "life" is used figuratively to represent one’s utmost limit or most valuable asset. Together, they create a vivid metaphorical image of someone "staking their life" in a struggle, which over time solidified into a single term meaning to strive with desperate, all-out effort, as if one's life depended on it.