钉子钉黄连，硬往苦里钻釘子釘黃連，硬往苦里鑽釘子釘黃連，硬往苦里鑽

a nail driven into goldthread root: forcing its way into the bitter

Saying俗语俗語

Two-part saying歇后语歇後語 · Rarely used now

Meaning: Scolds someone who refuses an easy life and insists on hardship.
Wordplay: 苦 (kǔ) means both the bitter taste of the herb and suffering or hardship.

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Simplified: 钉子钉黄连，硬往苦里钻
Traditional (Taiwan): 釘子釘黃連，硬往苦里鑽
Pinyin: dīngzi dìng huánglián, yìng wǎng kǔ li zuān
Pinyin (Taiwan): dīngzi dīng huánglián, yìng wǎng kǔ lǐ zuān
Bopomofo: ㄉㄧㄥ ˙ㄗㄉㄧㄥㄏㄨㄤˊ ㄌㄧㄢˊ，ㄧㄥˋ ㄨㄤˇ ㄎㄨˇ ㄌㄧˇ ㄗㄨㄢ

Written with HSK 7-9 vocabulary, at CEFR level C1.

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