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Traditional
Pīnyīn
English Definition Add a new word to the dictionary Simplified
HSK
difficult / challenging / straitened circumstances / difficult situation
HSK 3
ugly / unsightly
HSK 2
disaster; catastrophe
HSK 5
to feel sad / to feel unwell / (of life) to be difficult
HSK 2
to feel unwell / to suffer pain / to be difficult to bear
HSK 2
hard to avoid / difficult to escape from / will inevitably
HSK 4
degree of difficulty
HSK 3
charactercopystroke orderAIpronouncebaikeskritterexampleCorrect
  *難* | 難* | *難
difficult (to...) / problem / difficulty / difficult / not good
HSK 1
unpleasant to hear / coarse / vulgar / offensive / shameful
HSK 2
difficult / hard / challenging
HSK 5
to feel embarrassed or awkward / to make things difficult (for someone) / to find things difficult (to do or manage)
HSK 5
hard to take / embarrassed
HSK 7-9
don't tell me ... / could it be that...?
HSK 3
difficult problem
HSK 2
lit. an interval of time is worth an ounce of gold, money cannot buy you time (saying) / fig. time is precious
unforgettable
HSK 6
to sacrifice oneself in a just cause / a victim of a disaster
easy to grasp but difficult to put into practice (idiom) / easier said than done
loath to part (idiom); emotionally close and unwilling to separate
suffering
HSK 7-9
(Tw) evacuation to an air-raid shelter
hard to (predict, imagine etc)
HSK 5
hard to explain in a few words (idiom); complicated and not easy to express succinctly
a torment / a trial / tribulation / a cross (to bear) / well-tried
HSK 7-9
spilt water is difficult to retrieve (idiom) / it's no use crying over spilt milk / what's done is done and can't be reversed / the damage is done / once divorced, there's no reuniting
seldom / rare / hard to come by
HSK 5
difficulty
HSK 7-9
if you ride a tiger, it's hard to get off (idiom); fig. impossible to stop halfway
to take refuge; to seek asylum
HSK 7-9
rarely seen
HSK 7-9
trouble shooting / solution to difficulties
calamity
(idiom) hard to believe; incredible
HSK 7-9
to raise a tough question
HSK 7-9
to be unavoidable (idiom)
mountain accident
difficulty / crisis
HSK 7-9
hard to understand / incomprehensible
unable to move a single step (idiom) / to be in an (extremely) difficult situation
every family has its problems (idiom)
misfortune / crisis / grave danger / critical situation / disaster / emergency / to be zealous in helping others out of a predicament
a nobleman's word is his bond (proverb)
cannot escape censure (idiom) / has to bear the blame
can't be bought for one thousand in gold (idiom)
(idiom) between a rock and a hard place / in a dilemma
to overcome all obstacles / to overcome countless difficulties
(it's) no wonder (that...) / (it's) not surprising (that)
HSK 7-9
air crash / aviation accident or incident
HSK 7-9
dilemma / quandary / to face a difficult choice
to rise in revolt / to raise difficult questions
perils of the sea
hard to endure / unbearable
not to pose a problem for sb / cannot stump sb
loath to part (idiom); emotionally close and unwilling to separate
Destiny is inexorable, there is no fleeing it (idiom). Your doom is at hand.
deep grief / extensive sorrow
hard to tell (i.e. hard to judge or hard to predict) / cannot bring oneself to say it
HSK 7-9
hard to get to / difficult to travel (i.e. the road is bad)
to force someone to do something
(idiom) insatiably greedy
catastrophic
hard to endure (hot weather, itchiness etc)
lit. easy to dodge the spear in the open, hard to avoid a stab in the dark (idiom); it is hard to guard against secret conspiracies
there are no rivers to one who has crossed the ocean, and no clouds to one who has passed Mount Wu (idiom) / one who has seen the world doesn't stop at small things
so many that the bamboo slats have been exhausted / innumerable crimes (idiom) / see also 罄筆難書|罄笔难书
a hidden trouble hard to mention (idiom) / sth too embarrassing to mention / an embarrassing illness
trouble; difficulty; problem
HSK 7-9
lit. there is nothing the determined person can't accomplish (idiom) / fig. persistence will overcome
rare and precious / valuable / remarkable
to suffer a calamity / to suffer (e.g. under torture) / distress
cannot control oneself (idiom) / to be beside oneself
victim of an accident / casualty / martyr for one's country
it's difficult to please everyone (idiom)
extremely difficult / even more difficult
(idiom) between a rock and a hard place / in a dilemma
It is hard to change one's essential nature (idiom). You can't change who you are. / Can the leopard change his spots? (Jeremiah 13:23)
to go through thick and thin together (idiom)
disaster movie
no room to advance or to retreat (idiom); without any way out of a dilemma / trapped / in an impossible situation
to make do in difficult circumstances by being resourceful / (of circumstances) difficult / challenging / (of a budget) tight / (of a man-made thing) makeshift / rough and ready
even heroes have a weakness for the charms of a beautiful woman (idiom)
elusive / hard to pin down / enigmatic
the problem is...
(idiom) one cannot afford to incur public wrath / it is dangerous to incur the anger of the masses
extremely difficult
one is bound for good fortune after surviving a great disaster (proverb)
(idiom) it is easy to go from frugality to extravagance; the reverse is not so easy
old habits are hard to change (idiom)
it's easier to invite the devil in than to send him away
to run into misfortune
Prince Ananda, cousin of the Buddha and his closest disciple
to become caught up in an irresolvable situation (idiom)
harder than climbing to heaven (idiom)
refugee
hard to pass
The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Eighty-one Difficulties, medical text, c. 1st century AD
lit. cannot rest or eat in peace (idiom) / fig. extremely worried and troubled
To enjoy blessings and endure misfortune together (idiom); for better or for worse

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