艰难

艱難

jiānnán

adjective HSK 5 #2,157

Meanings

1 difficult; hard; challenging
2 arduous; trying

Characters

difficult; hard

difficult; hard

Doubly difficult — emphasizing great challenge.

Examples

这是一个艰难的决定。

Zhè shì yī gè jiānnán de juédìng.

This is a difficult decision.

他经历了艰难的时刻。

Tā jīnglì le jiānnán de shíkè.

He went through a difficult time.

创业的过程非常艰难。

Chuàngyè de guòchéng fēicháng jiānnán.

The process of starting a business is extremely difficult.

Tips

usage

艰难 emphasizes the difficulty of a process or decision. It's more literary/formal than 困难 (kùnnan, difficult). Compare: 艰苦 = harsh conditions, 艰难 = difficult situation/process, 困难 = general difficulty.

Stroke Order

艰 jiān

难 nán