积重难返

積重難返

jīzhòngnánfǎn

idiom

Meanings

1 deep-rooted habits are hard to change
2 entrenched problems resist reform
3 long-standing ills are difficult to undo

Characters

to return; to reverse

Examples

这种官僚作风积重难返。

Zhè zhǒng guānliáo zuòfēng jī zhòng nán fǎn.

This kind of bureaucratic habit is deeply entrenched and hard to reform.

有些问题积重难返,必须大刀阔斧地改革。

Yǒuxiē wèntí jī zhòng nán fǎn, bìxū dà dāo kuò fǔ de gǎigé.

Some problems are so entrenched they demand sweeping reform.

吸烟多年积重难返,戒起来很不容易。

Xīyān duō nián jī zhòng nán fǎn, jiè qǐlái hěn bù róngyì.

Years of smoking make the habit hard to break.

Tips

history

The structural seed is in 《国语·晋语》: '重,无乃难迁乎?' — 'once heavy, is it not hard to shift?'. The four-character form was fixed in Shen Defu's 《万历野获编》 (Ming, 1619): '此又皆势处极重之难返者' — describing Ming-dynasty institutional decay.

usage

Critical and formal. Often applied to institutional problems, social ills, or personal bad habits. Not suitable for light complaints — it implies a problem decades in the making.

Stroke Order

积 jī

重 zhòng

难 nán

返 fǎn