Word: 难 (nán, nàn)

心去意难留，留下结冤仇

xīn qù yì nán liú, liúxià jiē yuānchóu

when the heart has gone, the will is hard to keep; keeping them creates enmity

怕见的是怪，难躲的是债

pà jiàn de shì guài, nán duǒ de shì zhài

what you fear to see is monsters, what is hard to dodge is debt

思维一旦僵化，就很难创新。

Sīwéi yídàn jiānghuà, jiù hěn nán chuàngxīn.

Once your thinking becomes rigid, it's hard to be innovative.

性格很难被别人改造。

Xìnggé hěn nán bèi biéren gǎizào.

A person's character is hard for others to remold.

总统很难接近。

Zǒngtǒng hěn nán jiējìn.

The president is difficult to approach.

恩义广施，人生何处不相逢；冤仇莫结，路逢狭处难回避

ēnyì guǎng shī, rénshēnghéchùbùxiāngféng; yuānchóu mò jié, lù féng xiá chù nán huíbì

give kindness widely, for where in life won't we meet again; make no enemies, for on a narrow road it is hard to avoid them

恶虎难斗肚里蛇

è hǔ nán dòu dùlǐ shé

a fierce tiger can hardly fight the snake inside its belly

悔前容易悔后难

huǐ qián róngyì huǐ hòu nán

Regretting before is easy; regretting after is hard

意大利语不难。

Yìdàlìyǔ bù nán.

Italian isn't difficult.

慢性病很难彻底治好，对吗？

Mànxìngbìng hěn nán chèdǐ zhì hǎo, duì ma?

Chronic diseases are hard to cure completely, right?

成人容易做人难

chéngrén róngyì zuòrén nán

Growing up is easy; being a decent person is hard

我们发现很难决定买哪个。

Wǒmen fāxiàn hěn nán juédìng mǎi nǎge.

We are finding it difficult to decide which one to buy.

我们觉得很难决定买哪一个。

Wǒmen juéde hěn nán juédìng mǎi nǎ yí gè.

We find it difficult to decide which one to buy.

我发现读这本书很难。

Wǒ fāxiàn dú zhè běn shū hěn nán.

I found it difficult to read the book.

我太难了。

Wǒ tài nánle.

Life is so hard for me.

我很难找到他的房子。

Wǒ hěn nán zhǎodào tā de fángzi.

I had some trouble in finding his house.

我很难相信。

Wǒ hěn nán xiāngxìn.

I am finding it very difficult to believe.

我很难解决这个问题。

Wǒ hěn nán jiějué zhège wèntí.

I had difficulty in solving this problem.

我想学中文，但是汉字很难。

Wǒ xiǎng xué Zhōngwén, dànshì hànzì hěn nán.

I want to learn Chinese, but the characters are difficult.

我知道，要相信这件事很难。

Wǒ zhīdào, yào xiāngxìn zhè jiàn shì hěn nán.

I know it's difficult to believe.

我觉得世界语很难学。

Wǒ juéde Shìjièyǔ hěn nán xué.

In my opinion, Esperanto is very difficult.

我觉得很难和他相处。

Wǒ juéde hěn nán hé tā xiāngchǔ.

I found it difficult to get along with him.

我觉得很难用言语表达我的意思。

Wǒ juéde hěn nán yòng yányǔ biǎodá wǒ de yìsi.

I find it difficult to express my meaning in words.

我觉得德语很难。

Wǒ juéde Déyǔ hěn nán.

I feel that the German language can be very difficult.

我觉得这个测试很难。

Wǒ juéde zhège cèshì hěn nán.

I found the test difficult.

我认为它很难。

Wǒ rènwéi tā hěn nán.

I think it's very difficult.

我认为法文很难学。

Wǒ rènwéi Fǎwén hěn nán xué.

In my opinion, French is a hard language to learn.

才学理发就碰上大胡子，难剃

cáixué lǐfà jiù pèngshàng dà húzi, nán tì

Just learning to cut hair and meeting a man with a big beard: hard to shave (hard question)

打鸭子上架,难哪

dǎyāzishàngjià,nán na

driving a duck up onto a perch: hard indeed

找到知己很难，你很幸运！

Zhǎodào zhījǐ hěn nán, nǐ hěn xìngyùn!

It's hard to find a true friend, so you're lucky!

把英语说得好很难。

Bǎ Yīngyǔ shuō de hǎo hěn nán.

It's hard to speak English well.

放虎容易擒虎难

fàng hǔ róngyì qín hǔ nán

releasing a tiger is easy, catching a tiger is hard

政治学的考试难不难？

Zhèngzhìxué de kǎoshì nán bù nán?

Is the political science exam hard?

救人一难，多活十年

jiù rén yí nàn, duō huó shínián

save a person from one calamity and live ten years longer

救急容易救穷难

jiùjí róngyì jiùqióng nán

rescuing from an emergency is easy, rescuing from poverty is hard

教奢易，教俭难

jiāo shēyì, jiāo jiǎn nán

teaching extravagance is easy, teaching thrift is hard

教的言语不会说，有钱难买自主张

jiāo de yányǔ búhuì shuō, yǒuqián nán mǎi zì zhǔzhāng

words taught by others can't be spoken; money can't buy making up your own mind

无本难求利

wú běn nán qiú lì

without capital it is hard to seek profit

无火难成炊

wú huǒ nán chéng chuī

without fire it is hard to cook a meal

无赃难定罪

wú zāng nán dìngzuì

without stolen goods it is hard to fix guilt

日子再难，也得挨过去。

Rìzi zài nán, yě de āi guòqù.

No matter how hard life gets, we have to get through it.

日本人和中国人有时很难分辨。

Rìběn rén hé Zhōngguórén yǒushí hěn nán fēnbiàn.

It is not always easy to distinguish the Japanese from the Chinese.

日语里的敬语很难学。

Rìyǔ lǐ de jìngyǔ hěn nán xué.

Honorific language in Japanese is hard to learn.

旱天的田螺，有口难开

hàn tiān de tiánluó, yǒu kǒu nán kāi

a field snail in a drought: it has a mouth but can hardly open it

春运期间，火车票很难买。

Chūnyùn qījiān, huǒchēpiào hěn nán mǎi.

During the Spring Festival travel rush, train tickets are hard to get.

是真难假，是假难真

shì zhēn nán jiǎ, shì jiǎ nán zhēn

what's real is hard to make fake; what's fake is hard to make real

是真难灭，是假易除

shì zhēn nán miè, shì jiǎyì chú

what's true is hard to wipe out; what's false is easy to remove

是非对错并不难分。

Shìfēi duì cuò bìng bù nán fēn.

It's easy to distinguish good from evil.

是非对错，有时很难分辨。

Shìfēi duì cuò, yǒushí hěn nán fēnbiàn.

It is sometimes hard to tell right from wrong.

有些人觉得法语是一种难的语言。

Yǒuxiē rén juéde Fǎyǔ shì yìzhǒng nán de yǔyán.

Some people think that French is a difficult language.

有些音特别难发。

Yǒuxiē yīn tèbié nán fā.

Some sounds are really hard to pronounce.

有借有还，再借不难

yǒu jiè yǒu huán, zài jiè bù nán

borrow and return, and borrowing again is not hard

有时我们很难控制自己的情绪。

Yǒushí wǒmen hěn nán kòngzhì zìjǐ de qíngxù.

It's sometimes difficult to control our feelings.

有钱难买回头看，头若回看后悔无

yǒuqián nán mǎi huítóu kàn, tóu ruò huí kàn hòuhuǐ wú

money can't buy looking back; if you look back, there's no regret

有钱难买子孙贤

yǒuqián nán mǎi zǐsūn xián

money can't buy virtuous descendants

有钱难买经验多

yǒuqián nán mǎi jīngyàn duō

money can't buy a wealth of experience

本钱易寻，伙计难讨

běnqián yì xún, huǒji nán tǎo

capital is easy to find; a shop assistant is hard to get

树苗好栽成材难

shùmiáo hǎo zāi chéngcái nán

saplings are easy to plant, but growing them into timber is hard

樱桃好吃树难栽，不下苦功花不开

yīngtáo hǎochī shù nán zāi, búxià kǔgōng huā bù kāi

cherries taste good but the tree is hard to grow; without hard work no blossoms open

正中午看太阳，难瞧

zhèng zhōngwǔ kàn tàiyang, nán qiáo

looking at the sun at high noon: hard to look at

此次考试比上次难多了。

Cǐcì kǎoshì bǐ shàngcì nán duō le.

This exam was much harder than the last one.

水和油很难分离。

Shuǐ hé yóu hěn nán fēnlí.

Water and oil are hard to separate.

汉字很难学。

Hànzì hěn nán xué.

Chinese characters are difficult to learn.

汉字很难读。

Hànzì hěn nán dú.

Kanji are difficult to read.

汉语学起来没那么难。

Hànyǔ xué qǐlai méi nàme nán.

Chinese is not too difficult to learn.

汉语里的多音字很难学。

Hànyǔ lǐ de duōyīnzì hěn nán xué.

Characters with multiple readings are hard to learn in Chinese.

治酒容易请客难

zhì jiǔ róngyì qǐngkè nán

preparing a feast is easy; getting guests to come is hard

法律术语对我来说太难了。

Fǎlǜ shùyǔ duìwǒláishuō tài nánle.

Legal terminology is too difficult for me.

法文不难学。

Fǎwén bù nán xué.

French isn't difficult to learn.

法文好难，不想学了。

Fǎwén hǎo nán, bùxiǎng xué le.

French is so difficult that I don't want to learn it any more.

法语太难了，我不想学。

Fǎyǔ tài nánle, wǒ bùxiǎng xué.

French is too hard. I don't want to learn it.

泼水容易收水难

pōshuǐ róngyì shōu shuǐ nán

spilling water is easy; gathering it back is hard

海上风多舟难行，世上官多不太平

hǎishàng fēng duō zhōu nán xíng, shìshàng guān duō bú tàipíng

with many winds at sea boats can hardly sail; with many officials in the world there is no peace

湿木头很难点火。

Shī mùtou hěn nán diǎnhuǒ.

Wet wood is hard to ignite.

漂亮话好说，漂亮事难做

piàoliànghuà hǎo shuō, piàoliang shì nán zuò

pretty words are easy to say; fine deeds are hard to do

独拳难打虎

dú quán nán dǎ hǔ

a lone fist can hardly fight a tiger

猴子嘴里的香蕉，难掏

hóuzi zuǐlǐ de xiāngjiāo, nán tāo

a banana in a monkey's mouth: hard to pull out

现实和幻想是很难区分的。

Xiànshí hé huànxiǎng shì hěn nán qūfēn de.

Reality and fantasy are hard to distinguish.

班上人太多，很难因材施教。

Bānshàng rén tài duō, hěn nán yīncáishījiào.

There are too many students in the class to tailor teaching to each one.

理科比文科难。

Lǐkē bǐ wénkē nán.

The natural sciences are harder than the social sciences.

生活再难，也总有亮点。

Shēnghuó zài nán, yě zǒng yǒu liàngdiǎn.

However hard life gets, there are always some bright spots.

生活是难的。

Shēnghuó shì nán de.

Life is hard.

用人容易识人难

yòngrén róngyì shí rén nán

employing people is easy; knowing people is hard

用筷子吃饭难吗？

Yòng kuàizi chīfàn nán ma?

Is eating with chopsticks difficult?

由俭入奢易，由奢入俭难

yóu jiǎn rù shēyì, yóu shē rù jiǎn nán

going from thrift to extravagance is easy; going from extravagance to thrift is hard

留学生觉得熟语很难。

Liúxuéshēng juéde shúyǔ hěn nán.

International students find idioms very hard.

看花容易种花难

kàn huā róngyì zhònghuā nán

looking at flowers is easy, growing flowers is hard

真话好说，假话难编

zhēnhuà hǎo shuō, jiǎhuà nán biān

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

知人难，知己更难

zhī rén nán, zhījǐ gèng nán

knowing others is hard, knowing yourself is harder

短板搭桥，难到岸

duǎnbǎn dāqiáo, nán dào àn

building a bridge with short planks: hard to reach the bank

矮檐之下出头难

ǎi yán zhīxià chūtóu nán

Under a low eave it is hard to lift your head

破山中贼易，破心中贼难

pò shān zhōng zéi yì, pò xīnzhōng zéi nán

beating bandits in the mountains is easy; beating the bandit in your heart is hard

穷家难舍,热土难离

qióng jiā nánshè,rètǔ nán lí

hard to leave a poor home, hard to leave the warm soil

童年的创伤很难忘记。

Tóngnián de chuāngshāng hěn nán wàngjì.

The trauma of childhood is hard to forget.

笼子里的鸟，有翅难逃

lóngzi lǐ de niǎo, yǒu chì nán táo

a bird in a cage: has wings but can't escape

筛子做门，难遮众人眼睛

shāizi zuò mén, nán zhē zhòngrén yǎnjing

a sieve for a door can't hide from people's eyes

糖粘在手上了，很难洗掉。

Táng nián zài shǒushàng le, hěn nán xǐ diào.

The sugar stuck to my hands and is hard to wash off.

经济低迷的时候，找工作很难。

Jīngjì dīmí de shíhou, zhǎo gōngzuò hěn nán.

When the economy is in a slump, finding a job is hard.

结冤容易，解冤难

jié yuān róngyì, jiěyuān nán

making a grudge is easy, undoing it is hard

结得人缘好，不怕做事难

jié de rényuán hǎo, búpà zuòshì nán

if you've built good relations, you needn't fear hard tasks