举步维艰

舉步維艱

jǔbù-wéijiān

idiom #37,162

Meanings

1 to make progress only with great difficulty
2 every step is hard going

Characters

to lift / raise

is / only (literary)

Examples

HSK 4

公司目前举步维艰。

Gōngsī mùqián jǔbù-wéijiān.

The company is currently struggling to move forward.

HSK 5

改革举步维艰，但必须坚持。

Gǎigé jǔbù-wéijiān, dàn bìxū jiānchí.

Reform is difficult going, but we must persist.

Tips

memory

Literally "lift step - only difficult." Picture trying to take a single step through deep mud - that's the feeling. The 维 here is a literary copula meaning "is / amounts to," not "to maintain."

Stroke Order

举 jǔ

步 bù

维 wéi

艰 jiān