有苦难言

有苦難言
yǒukǔnányán
idiom #94,637

Meanings

  1. 1 to suffer in silence
  2. 2 unable to speak of one's troubles
  3. 3 to bottle up hardship

Examples

Bèi lǐngdǎo wùjiě, tā yǒu kǔ nán yán, zhǐ néng mòmò chéngshòu.
Misunderstood by his boss, he had to swallow his grievances in silence.
Tā wèile jiātíng xīshēng le hěn duō, què yǒu kǔ nán yán.
She sacrificed a lot for her family but couldn't speak of her struggles.

Tips

usage
Describes suffering that can't be voiced — either because nobody would believe it, it would cause more trouble, or there's no one to tell. Emotionally loaded; common in family and workplace contexts.

Stroke Order

yǒu
nán
yán