Word: 难 (nán, nàn)

统计学这门课难不难？

Tǒngjìxué zhè mén kè nán bù nán?

Is the statistics course difficult?

维持一个人的声誉是很难的。

Wéichí yí gè rén de shēngyù shì hěn nán de.

It is hard to maintain one's reputation.

羊头钻进篱笆里,伸首容易缩首难

yángtóu zuānjìn líba lǐ,shēn shǒu róngyì suō shǒu nàn

a sheep's head pushed into a hedge: easy to stick out the head (hand), hard to pull it back

美景不长，良辰难再

měijǐng bù cháng, liángchén nán zài

beautiful scenes don't last, good times seldom return

老鼠偷米汤,难糊口

lǎoshǔ tōu mǐtāng,nán húkǒu

a mouse steals rice water: hard to fill its mouth

老鼠钻瓶子,好进难出

lǎoshǔ zuān píngzi,hǎo jìn nán chū

a mouse crawls into a bottle: easy to get in, hard to get out

考官没有刁难我，问题都不难。

Kǎoguān méiyǒu diāonàn wǒ, wèntí dōu bù nán.

The examiner didn't give me a hard time, and the questions weren't difficult.

自以为是的人很难进步。

Zìyǐwéishì de rén hěn nán jìnbù.

People who are full of themselves find it hard to improve.

英文并不难学。

Yīngwén bìng bù nán xué.

English is not hard to learn.

英语并不难学。

Yīngyǔ bìng bù nán xué.

English is not difficult to learn.

英语很难，不是吗？

Yīngyǔ hěn nán, bú shì ma?

English is difficult, isn't it?

英语很难学。

Yīngyǔ hěn nán xué.

English is difficult to learn.

英语是一种难学的语言。

Yīngyǔ shì yìzhǒng nán xué de yǔyán.

English is a hard language to learn.

茂密的森林里很难找到路。

Màomì de sēnlín lǐ hěn nán zhǎodào lù.

It's hard to find the way in a dense forest.

草书的线条很流畅，但是很难认。

Cǎoshū de xiàntiáo hěn liúchàng, dànshì hěn nán rèn.

The lines of cursive script are very flowing, but it's hard to read.

荷叶当雨伞，难遮盖

héyè dàng yǔsǎn, nán zhēgài

using a lotus leaf as an umbrella: hard to cover

萝卜青菜酱在一起，青白难辨

luóbo qīngcài jiàng zài yìqǐ, qīngbái nán biàn

Radish and green vegetables pickled in sauce together: hard to tell green from white

蛇钻窟窿，顾前难顾后

shé zuān kūlong, gù qián nán gù hòu

a snake going into a hole: hard to look after the back while minding the front

行情不好，生意很难做。

Hángqíng bù hǎo, shēngyi hěn nán zuò.

The market is weak, so business is hard.

要改变历史是很难的。

Yào gǎibiàn lìshǐ shì hěn nán de.

Changing history is difficult.

计划很好，可是很难实施。

Jìhuà hěn hǎo, kěshì hěn nán shíshī.

The plan is good, but it's hard to carry out.

说法语真有那么难吗？

Shuō Fǎyǔ zhēn yǒu nàme nán ma?

Is it really that hard to speak French?

说英语不难。

Shuō Yīngyǔ bù nán.

It is not difficult to speak English.

说英语很难。

Shuō Yīngyǔ hěn nán.

Speaking English is difficult.

说谎难瞒同乡人

shuōhuǎng nán mán tóngxiāng rén

lies are hard to hide from people of your home village

豆腐好吃浆难磨

dòufu hǎochī jiāng nán mò

tofu is tasty but the soy milk is hard to grind

败家容易兴家难

bàijiā róngyì xīng jiā nán

ruining a household is easy; building one up is hard

赤金难买赤子心

chìjīn nán mǎi chìzǐ xīn

even pure gold can hardly buy a child's pure heart

起头容易结尾难

qǐtóu róngyì jiéwěi nán

starting is easy, finishing is hard

跑出去的马好抓，说出去的话难追

pǎo chūqù de mǎ hǎo zhuā, shuō chūqù dehuà nán zhuī

a horse that has run off is easy to catch; words that have been spoken are hard to chase

跟不情愿的人很难一起工作。

Gēn bù qíngyuàn de rén hěn nán yìqǐ gōngzuò.

It is very difficult to work with people who are not willing to do so.

跨度越大，桥就越难建。

Kuàdù yuè dà, qiáo jiù yuè nán jiàn.

The longer the span, the harder the bridge is to build.

车站外面很难打到出租车。

Chēzhàn wàimiàn hěn nán dǎ dào chūzūchē.

It's hard to get a taxi outside the station.

过头饭难吃，过头话难讲

guòtóu fàn nán chī, guòtóuhuà nán jiǎng

overdone rice is hard to eat; overdone words are hard to say

近日总下雨，衣服难干。

Jìnrì zǒng xiàyǔ, yīfu nán gān.

It's been raining these past few days, so clothes are hard to get dry.

还债容易还情难

huánzhài róngyì huán qíng nán

repaying a debt is easy, repaying a favour is hard

这不应该这么难。

Zhè bù yīnggāi zhème nán.

This shouldn't be so hard.

这个城市很难打到出租车。

Zhège chéngshì hěn nán dǎ dào chūzūchē.

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

这个字很难发音。

Zhège zì hěn nán fāyīn.

This word is difficult to pronounce.

这个很难学会。

Zhège hěn nán xuéhuì.

This is difficult to master.

这个词很难。

Zhège cí hěn nán.

This word is difficult.

这个问题太难了，我答不出来。

Zhège wèntí tài nánle, wǒ dá bù chūlái.

This question's too hard, I can't answer it.

这个问题很难回答。

Zhège wèntí hěn nán huídá.

The question was too difficult to answer.

这个问题让小学生解决太难了。

Zhège wèntí ràng xiǎoxuéshēng jiějué tài nánle.

This problem is too difficult for primary school children to solve.

这么难的动作，小孩子学不会。

Zhème nán de dòngzuò, xiǎoháizi xué búhuì.

Children can't learn movements this difficult.

这些汉字对我们来说不太难。

Zhèxiē hànzì duì wǒmen lái shuō bú tài nán.

These Chinese characters are not too difficult for us.

这件事做起来没有听着这么难。

Zhè jiàn shì zuò qǐlai méiyǒu tīngzhe zhème nán.

Once you do it, you see that it's not as hard as it sounds.

这件事很难一句话概括。

Zhè jiàn shì hěn nán yíjù huà gàikuò.

This matter is hard to sum up in one sentence.

这件事真难处理。

Zhè jiàn shì zhēn nán chǔlǐ.

This is really difficult to deal with.

这场时装秀的票很难买。

Zhè chǎng shízhuāngxiù de piào hěn nán mǎi.

Tickets for this fashion show are hard to get.

这家公司的笔试很难。

Zhè jiā gōngsī de bǐshì hěn nán.

This company's written test for applicants is very hard.

这对你来说很难，对不对？

Zhè duì nǐ lái shuō hěn nán, duì bú duì?

This is hard for you, isn't it?

这张老照片太模糊了，很难辨认。

Zhè zhāng lǎo zhàopiān tài móhule, hěn nán biànrèn.

This old photo is too blurry; it's hard to make out.

这是个很难解决的问题。

Zhè shì gè hěn nán jiějué de wèntí.

This is a difficult problem to solve.

这有那么难吗？

Zhè yǒu nàme nán ma?

Is this that hard?

这本书对你来说读起来太难了。

Zhè běn shū duì nǐ lái shuō dú qǐlai tài nánle.

This book is too difficult for you to read.

这本书对我太难了。

Zhè běn shū duì wǒ tài nánle.

This book is too difficult for me.

这本书很难读。

Zhè běn shū hěn nán dú.

This book is quite difficult.

这本汉语书对我们来说没有太难。

Zhè běn Hànyǔ shū duì wǒmen lái shuō méiyǒu tài nán.

This Chinese book is not too difficult for us.

这条物理定律很难理解。

Zhè tiáo wùlǐ dìnglǜ hěn nán lǐjiě.

This law of physics is hard to understand.

这次的试题比上次难多了。

Zhècì de shìtí bǐ shàngcì nán duō le.

The questions on this exam are much harder than last time.

这次考试的试题太难了。

Zhècì kǎoshì de shìtí tài nánle.

The questions on this exam were too hard.

这段文言文太难了，我看不懂。

Zhè duàn wényánwén tài nánle, wǒ kànbùdǒng.

This passage of classical Chinese is too hard, and I can't understand it.

这种疼痛，常人很难忍受。

Zhèzhǒng téngtòng, chángrén hěn nán rěnshòu.

An ordinary person would find this kind of pain hard to bear.

这种病很难诊断，要多检查。

Zhèzhǒng bìng hěn nán zhěnduàn, yào duō jiǎnchá.

This illness is hard to diagnose, so more tests are needed.

这道题太难了，连老师也没辙。

Zhè dào tí tài nánle, lián lǎoshī yě méizhé.

This problem is so hard that even the teacher is at a loss.

那不难，是吧？

Nà bù nán, shì ba?

That wasn't so hard, was it?

那个没你想象的那么难。

Nàge méi nǐ xiǎngxiàng de nàme nán.

It is not so difficult as you think.

那么做很难。

Nàme zuò hěn nán.

It's difficult to do that.

那是一个很难回答的问题。

Nà shì yí gè hěn nán huídá de wèntí.

That's a hard question to answer.

酒席好摆客难请

jiǔxí hǎo bǎi kè nán qǐng

a banquet is easy to lay out, guests are hard to invite

野鸟很难驯，别白费力气。

Yě niǎo hěn nán xùn, bié báifèi lìqi.

Wild birds are hard to tame, so don't waste your effort.

金银难买勤手脚

jīnyín nán mǎi qín shǒujiǎo

gold and silver can't buy diligent hands and feet

锦上添花易，雪中送炭难

jǐnshàngtiānhuā yì, xuězhōngsòngtàn nán

adding flowers to brocade is easy, sending charcoal in the snow is hard

问题太宽泛，很难回答。

Wèntí tài kuānfàn, hěn nán huídá.

The question is too broad to answer easily.

闲饭难吃,闲话难听

xiánfàn nán chī,xiánhuà nántīng

idle rice is hard to eat, idle talk is hard to hear

附近没有水，很难灭火。

Fùjìn méiyǒu shuǐ, hěn nán mièhuǒ.

There's no water nearby, so it's hard to put out the fire.

难者不会，会者不难

nánzhě búhuì, huìzhě bù nán

the difficult is for those who can't; for those who can, it isn't difficult

雨下大了，山路愈加难走。

Yǔ xià dàle, shānlù yùjiā nán zǒu.

The rain got heavier, and the mountain road became even harder to walk.

韩文不是很难学吗？

Hánwén bú shì hěn nán xué ma?

Isn't learning Hangul difficult?

韩语很难学，但韩文学起来很快。

Hányǔ hěn nán xué, dàn hán wénxué qǐlai hěn kuài.

Korean is difficult to learn, but Hangul can be learned quickly.

高等数学对我来说太难了。

Gāoděng shùxué duìwǒláishuō tài nánle.

Advanced math is too hard for me.

黄河水,难清

Huáng Hé shuǐ,nán qīng

Yellow River water: hard to get clear (to invite)