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艱: difficult

By November 22, 2013January 16th, 2017Chinese Word, Japanese Word, Language-Learning

 

艱[艰] jiān


: difficult; hard; hardship

Kun Reading

On Reading

かん kan

 Usage:

艱苦 jian1ku3: difficult; arduous [かんく kanku: privation suffering]
艱難 jian1nan2: difficult; challenging
[かんなん kannan: austerity/privations – essential for human well-being such as food and warmth are scarce]
艱巨 jian1ju4: arduous; formidable
艱辛 jian1xin1: hardship; difficult
步履維艱[步履维艰] bu4lü3wei2jian1: have difficulty walking
舉步維艱[举步维艰] ju3bu4wei2jian1: have difficulty progressing 

Japanese expression
艱難汝を玉にす | かんなんなんじをたまにす kannan nanji o tamanisu
: hardship makes the man

Chinese idiom
艱深晦澀 [艰深晦涩] jian1 shen1 hui4 se4: abstruse and unfathomable
艱苦樸素 [艰苦朴素] jian1 ku3 pu3 su4: leading a plain, hardworking life
艱難險阻 [艰难险阻] jian1 nan2 xian3 zu3: untold dangers and difficulties

 Etymology:


形声 Pictophonetic:
堇 (jin1: yellow loam) suggest the meaning,
艮 (gen3: tough; blunt; stopping) while provides the sound.

The character is reclassified with the 艮 (gen3: “stubborn”) radical


簡體 Simplified form is:
艰. Created as unique simplification #111 (艱 » 艰).



 Examples:
n/a

Resources: Chinese Dictionary | Japanese Dictionary