Word: 难 (nán, nàn)

一个人很难做到面面俱到。

Yí gè rén hěn nán zuòdào miànmiànjùdào.

It's hard for one person to take care of everything.

一人难做百人饭

yì rén nán zuò bǎi rén fàn

one person can hardly cook a meal for a hundred people

一人难称百人心

yì rén nán chèn bǎi rénxīn

one person can hardly suit a hundred people's hearts

一根单丝难成线，千根万根拧成绳

yìgēn dān sī nán chéng xiàn, qiān gēn wàn gēn níng chéng shéng

a single strand can hardly make a thread, but thousands twisted together make a rope

一根竹子搭的桥,难过去

yìgēn zhúzi dā de qiáo,nán guòqù

a bridge made of one bamboo pole: hard to get across

一百个小和尚好认一个老和尚，一个老和尚难认一百个小和尚

yìbǎigè xiǎo héshang hǎo rèn yí gè lǎo héshang, yí gè lǎo héshang nán rèn yìbǎigè xiǎo héshang

a hundred young monks can easily know one old monk, but one old monk can hardly know a hundred young monks

三个不开口,神仙难下手

sān gè bù kāikǒu,shénxiān nán xiàshǒu

if the three won't open their mouths, even an immortal can't get started

上山容易下山难

shàngshān róngyì xiàshān nán

going up the mountain is easy, coming down is hard

上贼船易，下贼船难

shàngzéichuán yì, xià zéichuán nán

easy to board a pirate ship, hard to get off

下坡容易上坡难

xiàpō róngyì shàngpō nán

going downhill is easy, uphill is hard

下巴底下垫块砖,有口难张

xiàba dǐxia diàn kuài zhuān,yǒu kǒu nán zhāng

a brick under the chin: hard to open the mouth

下雨时，花很难授粉。

Xiàyǔ shí, huā hěn nán shòufěn.

When it rains, flowers have a hard time getting pollinated.

不吃苦中苦，难为人上人

bù chīkǔ zhōng kǔ, nán wei rén shàng rén

if you don't eat the bitterest of the bitter, it is hard to become a person above others

东家不知西家苦，南家不知北家难

dōngjiā bùzhī xī jiā kǔ, Nán jiā bùzhī běi jiā nán

the east house doesn't know the west house's bitterness; the south house doesn't know the north house's hardship

两件事牵扯太多，很难分开。

Liǎng jiàn shì qiānchě tài duō, hěn nán fēnkāi.

The two matters are too intertwined to separate.

两姑之间难为妇

liǎng gū zhījiān nán wei fù

between two 'gu' it is hard to be the wife

两省交界的地方，路很难走。

Liǎng shěng jiāojiè de dìfang, lù hěn nán zǒu.

The road is hard to travel where the two provinces border each other.

中文并不是世界上最难的语言。

Zhōngwén bìng bú shì shìjiè shàng zuì nán de yǔyán.

Chinese is not the hardest language in the world.

中文比其他外语难。

Zhōngwén bǐ qítā wàiyǔ nán.

Chinese is more difficult than other foreign languages.

为人容易做人难

wéi rén róngyì zuòrén nán

being a human is easy; being a proper person is hard

为什么改变那么难？

Wèishénme gǎibiàn nàme nán?

Why is change so hard?

为善最乐，作恶难逃

wéishànzuìlè, zuò'è nán táo

doing good brings the most joy; doing evil is hard to escape

乘除运算比加减难一点。

Chéngchú yùnsuàn bǐ jiājiǎn nán yìdiǎn.

Multiplication and division operations are a bit harder than addition and subtraction.

书到用时方恨少，事非经过不知难

shū dào yòng shí fāng hèn shǎo, shì fēi jīngguò bùzhī nán

only when you need books do you regret having read too few; you don't know a task is hard until you've done it

事非经过不知难

shì fēi jīngguò bùzhī nán

unless you've been through something, you don't know how hard it is

五常中的哪一条最难做到？

Wǔcháng zhōng de nǎ yìtiáo zuì nán zuòdào?

Which of the Five Constant Virtues is the hardest to live up to?

亲戚难管家务事

qīnqi nán guǎn jiāwùshì

relatives find it hard to manage household affairs

人人有本难念的经

rénrén yǒu běn nán niàn de jīng

everyone has a scripture that is hard to recite

他很难兼顾事业和家庭。

Tā hěn nán jiāngù shìyè hé jiātíng.

It is hard for him to balance his career and family.

他很难写他的名字。

Tā hěn nán xiě tā de míngzi.

He can scarcely write his name.

他很难对付。

Tā hěn nán duìfu.

He is hard to deal with.

他很难掩饰对自己成功的骄傲。

Tā hěn nán yǎnshì duì zìjǐ chénggōng de jiāo'ào.

It was difficult for him to hide his pride in his success.

他是个很难相处的男人。

Tā shì gè hěn nán xiāngchǔ de nánrén.

He is a man hard to get on with.

他有案底，所以找工作很难。

Tā yǒu àndǐ, suǒyǐ zhǎo gōngzuò hěn nán.

He has a criminal record, so finding a job is hard for him.

他深陷债务的泥潭，很难脱身。

Tā shēnxiàn zhàiwù de nítán, hěn nán tuōshēn.

He is deep in a quagmire of debt and can hardly get out.

他这个人很难相处。

Tā zhège rén hěn nán xiāngchǔ.

He is difficult to get along with.

你应该觉得不难。

Nǐ yīnggāi juéde bù nán.

That shouldn't be hard for you.

俄语很难学。

Éyǔ hěn nán xué.

Russian is hard to learn.

俄语非常难学。

Éyǔ fēicháng nán xué.

Russian is very difficult to learn.

信贷紧缩让小公司很难借钱。

Xìndài jǐnsuō ràng xiǎo gōngsī hěn nán jièqián.

The credit tightening makes it hard for small companies to borrow money.

儿时练功易，老来学艺难

érshí liàngōng yì, lǎo lái xuéyì nán

practising skills is easy in childhood, learning a craft is hard in old age

其中一些似乎太难了。

Qízhōng yìxiē sìhū tài nánle.

Some of them seem to be too difficult.

养子不易,教子更难

yǎngzǐ búyì,jiàozǐ gèng nán

raising a child is not easy, teaching a child is harder

再难也要做！

Zài nán yě yào zuò!

Do it, no matter how hard!

冲浪看起来容易，其实很难学。

Chōnglàng kànqǐlai róngyì, qíshí hěn nán xué.

Surfing looks easy, but it's actually hard to learn.

凡事开头难

fánshì kāitóu nán

everything is hard at the start

凡人不开口,神仙难动手

fánrén bù kāikǒu,shénxiān nán dòngshǒu

if a mortal doesn't open his mouth, even an immortal can't act

刚到大城市，他很难立足。

Gāng dào Dàchéng Shì, tā hěn nán lìzú.

Having just arrived in the big city, he finds it hard to get a footing.

创业难,创业难,创成事业如登山

chuàngyè nán,chuàngyè nán,chuàng chéng shìyè rú dēngshān

starting up is hard, starting up is hard, building a career is like climbing a mountain

创业难,守业更难

chuàngyè nán,shǒuyè gèng nán

starting up is hard, keeping it going is harder

制度太僵化，公司很难进步。

Zhìdù tài jiānghuà, gōngsī hěn nán jìnbù.

The system is too rigid, so it's hard for the company to improve.

区块链上的记录很难被人改动。

Qūkuàiliàn shàng de jìlù hěn nán bèi rén gǎidòng.

Records on a blockchain are very hard for anyone to alter.

千般易学，一窍难通

qiānbān yìxué, yí qiào nán tōng

a thousand things easy to learn, one key point hard to grasp

千金易得，知音难求

qiānjīn yì dé, zhīyīn nán qiú

a thousand gold pieces are easy to get; a true soulmate is hard to find

千阵万阵，难买头阵

qiān zhèn wàn zhèn, nán mǎi tóuzhèn

of a thousand battles, ten thousand battles, none is worth as much as the first battle

双手难捉两条鱼

shuāngshǒu nán zhuō liǎng tiáo yú

two hands can hardly catch two fish

双木桥好走，独木桥难行

shuāng mùqiáo hǎo zǒu, dúmùqiáo nán xíng

a two-log bridge is easy to walk, a one-log bridge is hard to cross

古诗的神韵很难翻译。

Gǔshī de shényùn hěn nán fānyì.

The grace of classical poetry is very hard to translate.

只有一人幸免于难。

Zhǐyǒu yì rén xìngmiǎn yú nán.

Only one person survived the accident.

吕洞宾买药，难住老的难不住小的

Lǚ Dòngbīn mǎi yào, nánzhù lǎo de nán búzhù xiǎo de

Lü Dongbin buys medicine: it stumps the old man but not the young girl

哑巴打官司,有理难诉

yǎba dǎguānsi,yǒulǐ nán sù

a mute going to court: right but hard to plead

嘴上贴膏药，有口难开

zuǐ shang tiēgāoyào, yǒu kǒu nán kāi

a medicinal plaster stuck on the mouth: hard to open the mouth

在嘈杂的教室里，孩子很难专心。

Zài cáozá de jiàoshì lǐ, háizi hěn nán zhuānxīn.

In a noisy classroom, it's hard for children to concentrate.

在家千日好，出门一时难

zàijiā qiānrì hǎo, chūmén yìshí nán

at home a thousand days are good, away one moment is hard

在这个城市，很难打到的。

Zài zhège chéngshì, hěn nán dǎ dào de.

It's very hard getting a taxi in this city.

坛口好扎，人口难封

tán kǒu hǎo zā, rénkǒu nán fēng

a jar's mouth is easy to tie, people's mouths are hard to seal

城墙上跑马，难掉头

chéngqiáng shang pǎomǎ, nán diàotóu

Riding a horse along the top of a city wall: hard to turn around

塑料很难在土里分解。

Sùliào hěn nán zài tǔ lǐ fēnjiě.

Plastic is very hard to decompose in the soil.

墙头儿上种白菜,难浇

qiáng tóur shàng zhǒng báicài,nán jiāo

growing cabbage on a wall top: hard to water

外贼易打，内贼难防

wài zéi yì dǎ, nèi zéi nán fáng

outside thieves are easy to fight, inside thieves are hard to guard against

夜猫子很难早起。

Yèmāozi hěn nán zǎoqǐ.

Night owls find it hard to get up early.

大熊猫很难孕育后代。

Dàxióngmāo hěn nán yùnyù hòudài.

Giant pandas have a hard time producing offspring.

大雪使得路上很难走。

Dàxuě shǐde lùshang hěn nán zǒu.

The heavy snow made the roads hard to travel.

大风里吃炒面,有口难开

dàfēng li chī chǎomiàn,yǒu kǒu nán kāi

eating roasted-flour noodles in a gale: have a mouth but can't open it

好借好还，再借不难

hǎo jiè hǎo huán, zài jiè bù nán

borrow well and return well, borrowing again isn't hard

好官易做，好人难做

hǎo guān yì zuò, hǎo rén nán zuò

a good official is easy to be; a good person is hard to be

好汉难打三面鼓

hǎohàn nán dǎ sānmiàn gǔ

even a good man can hardly beat three drums at once

如果你学习的话，这不难的。

Rúguǒ nǐ xuéxí dehuà, zhè bù nán de.

It's not difficult if you study.

孙猴子头上的金箍儿，戴上去容易取下来难

sūnhóuzi tóushàng de jīn gūr, dài shàngqù róngyì qǔ xiàlai nán

the golden band on Monkey Sun's head: easy to put on, hard to take off

学法语不难。

Xué Fǎyǔ bù nán.

Learning French isn't hard.

学游泳不难，几天就能入门。

Xué yóuyǒng bù nán, jǐtiān jiù néng rùmén.

Learning to swim isn't hard, and you can get the basics in a few days.

学游泳其实不难，入门很快。

Xué yóuyǒng qíshí bù nán, rùmén hěn kuài.

Learning to swim isn't actually hard, and you pick up the basics quickly.

学这个很难。

Xué zhège hěn nán.

This is very difficult to learn.

安乐死是一个很难讨论的话题。

Ānlèsǐ shì yí gè hěn nán tǎolùn de huàtí.

Euthanasia is a very difficult topic to discuss.

实话好说，谎话难编

shíhuà hǎo shuō, huǎnghuà nán biān

truth is easy to tell, lies are hard to make up

实际上没有那么难。

Shíjìshàng méiyǒu nàme nán.

It's actually not that difficult.

家家都有一本难念的经

jiājiā dōu yǒu yìběn nán niàn de jīng

every family has a scripture that is hard to recite

家贼难防，外鬼难抓

jiāzéinánfáng, wài guǐ nán zhuā

a thief in the house is hard to guard against, an outside ghost is hard to catch

小店难和大商场抗衡。

Xiǎodiàn nán hé dà shāngchǎng kànghéng.

A small shop can hardly compete with a big mall.

尘世难逢笑口开

chénshì nán féng xiào kǒu kāi

in the mortal world it's hard to meet an open, laughing mouth

山区的农田很难机械化。

Shānqū de nóngtián hěn nán jīxièhuà.

Farmland in the mountains is hard to mechanize.

应知读书难，在于点滴勤

yīng zhī dúshū nán, zàiyú diǎndī qín

know that study is hard; it lies in diligence drop by drop

开口求人难

kāikǒu qiúrén nán

opening your mouth to ask a favour is hard

开店容易守店难

kāidiàn róngyì shǒu diàn nán

opening a shop is easy, keeping it going is hard

开锣容易收场难

kāiluó róngyì shōuchǎng nán

beating the opening gong is easy, closing the show is hard

很难找到合适的翻译。

Hěn nán zhǎodào héshì de fānyì.

It's hard to find a suitable translation.

律师说这场诉讼很难赢。

Lǜshī shuō zhè chǎng sùsòng hěn nán yíng.

The lawyer said this lawsuit would be hard to win.

德才兼备的人很难找。

Décáijiānbèi de rén hěn nán zhǎo.

People with both integrity and talent are hard to find.

德语真的很难。

Déyǔ zhēnde hěn nán.

German is really difficult.

德语难学吗？

Déyǔ nán xué ma?

Is it hard to learn German?