How to Say “As Much as Possible” with 尽量 (jǐnliàng)

尽量 (jǐnliàng) is the adverb “as much as possible / to the greatest extent / do your best to.” The good news is that placement barely has rules: you drop it straight before a verb or adjective, 尽量 + Verb/Adj. 尽量早点到 (“arrive as early as you can”), 尽量说清楚 (“explain it as clearly as possible”), 尽量简短 (“keep it as brief as you can”). It very often follows a modal like 会, 要, or 应该, which sets up the intention: 我会尽量帮你 (“I'll do my best to help you”), 你要尽量早点休息 (“you should get to bed as early as you can”).

Two placement facts to lock in. First, the negative wraps the verb: it's 尽量不 / 尽量不要, with 尽量 staying out front and the 不 negating the action inside, 我尽量不打扰你 (“I'll try not to disturb you”), 你尽量不要熬夜 (“try not to stay up late”). Not 不尽量. Second, 尽量 modifies an action, not a noun. To say “spend as much time as possible,” you can't put 尽量 in front of the noun (not 尽量时间); you need a verb for it to lean on: 尽量多花时间 (“spend as much time as possible”). The same goes for “drink as much water as you can,” 尽量多喝水.

Now the part textbooks skip: the attitude. 尽量 is a soft “I'll try,” not a guarantee. When someone answers 我尽量 (“I'll do what I can”), they are often politely declining to promise, and it would be a mistake to hear it as a firm yes. If you can genuinely commit, the word you want is 一定 (yídìng, “definitely”): 我尽量参加 means “I'll try to come,” while 我一定参加 means “I'll definitely be there.” Same sentence, very different promise. Reach for 尽量 when you'll make the effort but can't swear to the outcome, and 一定 when you can.

A pronunciation footnote worth knowing: you'll hear 尽量 said both as jǐnliàng and jìnliàng. Strictly, the adverb is jǐnliàng (jìnliàng is meant to be a separate verb), but plenty of educated native speakers say jìnliàng for this word too, so don't be thrown when you hear it. Finally, 尽量 has two close relatives you'll meet: 尽可能 (jǐnkěnéng, “as … as possible”) is an almost interchangeable stand-in, and 尽力 (jìnlì, “exert one's full effort”) is the same do-your-best idea leaning on effort rather than extent. Just don't stack the synonyms: it's 尽量快点 or 尽可能快点, not both at once.