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Simplified
Pīnyīn
English Definition Add a new word to the dictionary Traditional
HSK
charactercopyAIpronouncebaikeskritterexampleCorrect
  *难* | 难* | *难
difficult (to...) / problem / difficulty / difficult / not good
HSK 1
to feel unwell / to suffer pain / to be difficult to bear
HSK 2
difficult problem
HSK 2
how (wonderful etc) / what (a great idea etc) / however (difficult it may be etc) / (in interrogative sentences) how (much etc) / to what extent
HSK 2
to feel sad / to feel unwell / (of life) to be difficult
HSK 2
difficult / challenging / straitened circumstances / difficult situation
HSK 3
hard to avoid / difficult to escape from / will inevitably
HSK 4
difficult / hard / arduous
HSK 5
to feel embarrassed or awkward / to make things difficult (for someone) / to find things difficult (to do or manage)
HSK 5
difficult / hard / challenging
HSK 5
not easy to do sth / difficult / unchanging
HSK 5
bewildered / perplexed / confused / difficult problem / perplexity
HSK 7-9
hardships / arduous / difficult
HSK 7-9
awkward / difficult / uncomfortable / not agreeing / at loggerheads / gauche
HSK 7-9
difficult and dangerous / hardships and perils
HSK 7-9
(of a task, mission or responsibility) extremely difficult; challenging; demanding
HSK 7-9
in a difficult situation / to cut a sorry figure / scoundrel! (derog.)
HSK 7-9
to be hard on sb; to deliberately make things difficult / Taiwan pr. [diao1nan2]
HSK 7-9
to make life difficult for / to embarrass / unable to make it through
HSK 7-9
lit. to make sb wear tight shoes (idiom) / to make life difficult for sb
HSK 7-9
(of government policy, noise pollution, crime etc) to make people's lives difficult
ten thousand crags and torrents (idiom); the trials and tribulations of a long journey / a long and difficult road
to free oneself / to extricate oneself from a difficult situation
in (some place) / to be in (adversity, a difficult situation, danger, turmoil etc) / to find oneself in / placed in / surrounded by
to rise in revolt / to raise difficult questions
to assault a fortified position / (fig.) to concentrate one's efforts on a particularly difficult part of one's mission
heavy burden; difficult task; great responsibility
dilemma / predicament / difficult situation
to pass one's days / to scratch out a difficult, meager existence
hard to understand / difficult to deal with / knotty / complicated
dangerous and difficult (path)
dilemma / quandary / to face a difficult choice
tricky / problematic / difficult / to scratch one's head (in puzzlement)
charactercopyAIpronouncebaikeskritterexampleCorrect
  *蹇* | 蹇* | *蹇
lame / cripple / unfortunate / slow / difficult / nag (inferior horse) / donkey / lame horse
tough battle; difficult task; big challenge
hard to say / can't guarantee / difficult to protect / difficult to preserve
countless difficulties / extremely difficult / against all odds
difficult to understand / cryptic
difficult to understand
unable to move a single step (idiom) / to be in an (extremely) difficult situation
to resolve a difficult situation and leave worries behind (idiom)
extremely difficult / hard and dangerous / challenging
charactercopyAIpronouncebaikeskritterexampleCorrect
  *佶* | 佶* | *佶
difficult to pronounce
long and difficult trek
resolute individual / a hard nut to crack / tough mission / difficult task
extremely difficult / even more difficult
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
charactercopyAIpronouncebaikeskritterexampleCorrect
  *艰* | 艰* | *艰
difficult / hard / hardship
to be unable to tolerate or endure / to find sth difficult to manage
to tackle a difficult job (idiom) / to do sth reluctantly
to grind one's way through an ink stone / to persevere in a difficult task (idiom) / to study diligently (idiom)
(idiom) howling wind and torrential rain; furious storm / (fig.) (idiom) difficult circumstances; dangerous situation
can't afford to offend / dare not provoke / difficult to deal with / insufferable
difficult birth / (fig.) difficult to achieve
charactercopyAIpronouncebaikeskritterexampleCorrect
  *掯* | 掯* | *掯
to push down / to make things difficult / to take by force
lit. the spring comes upon a withered tree (idiom) / fig. to get a new lease on life / to be revived / (of a difficult situation) to suddenly improve
(usu. of people) difficult / demanding / troublesome / unreasonable / hard to deal with
difficult / challenging / original
to be nothing difficult / to be a cinch
extremely difficult
it's difficult to please everyone (idiom)
in deep water / difficult situation
extremely difficult / even more difficult
It's hard to clap with only one hand. / It takes two to tango / It's difficult to achieve anything without support.
inconvenient / difficult for some reason / to find sth embarrassing
to make sth difficult / to create obstacles
to grind an iron bar down to a fine needle (idiom); fig. to persevere in a difficult task / to study diligently
difficult songs find few singers (idiom) / highbrow
charactercopyAIpronouncebaikeskritterexampleCorrect
  *聱* | 聱* | *聱
difficult to pronounce
to act wickedly / to bully / to make life difficult for sb by unreasonable actions
hard task / difficult mission / arduous and unrewarding undertaking / drudgery / grind / chore
to dig a hole / (fig.) to make things difficult for sb / (neologism) (slang) (of a writer) to start work on a new project
lit. as difficult to count as hair pulled from sb's head (idiom) / fig. innumerable (crimes)
hard to get to / difficult to travel (i.e. the road is bad)
trying / difficult
cliff / steep slope / fig. arrogant and difficult person
to go through a difficult and protracted process in withdrawing from the EU, as in the case of Brexit (a play on 脫歐|脱欧)
lit. to avoid the wind / fig. to keep low to avoid a difficult situation / to stay out of trouble
character that is difficult to recognize or write
lit. to break through a cocoon and turn into a butterfly (idiom) / fig. to emerge strong after a period of struggle / to get to a better place after going through difficult period
to get one's father involved in a difficult situation / (vulgar) (of sth that makes one feel misled or let down etc) to be a big disappointment
every beginning is difficult (idiom) / getting started is always the hardest part
single-log bridge / (fig.) difficult path
unable to move freely / difficult to get about
(neologism c. 2024) to stubbornly endure hardships that need not be endured; to go out of one's way to make things difficult for oneself
If you work at it hard enough, you can grind an iron bar into a needle. / cf idiom 磨杵成針|磨杵成针, to grind an iron bar down to a fine needle (idiom); fig. to persevere in a difficult task / to study diligently
frost and dew / fig. difficult conditions
(idiom) to solve a problem / to resolve a difficult issue
easy to grasp but difficult to put into practice (idiom) / easier said than done
to climb mountains and wade rivers (idiom); fig. to make a long and difficult journey
to be difficult with sb / to provoke disagreement / at loggerheads / to fall out with
hard to accomplish / difficult to achieve
with great difficulty / very difficult
to solve or overcome (a difficult problem) / to beat (a video game)
can't advance or retreat (idiom); no room for maneuver / stalled / in a dilemma / stuck in a difficult position
to frustrate / to inhibit / to make things difficult
lit. one palm alone cannot clap (proverb) / fig. it takes two persons to start a dispute / it takes two to tango / it's difficult to achieve anything without support
hard to say; can't be sure / difficult to speak about; unpleasant to say
to be embarrassed / to be put in a difficult situation
(of people) difficult to approach / inaccessible

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