万难 (wàn nán) — extremely difficult, very hard (to accomplish or overcome)

Definition

Written/formal intensifier meaning 'extremely difficult' — used in set phrases like 万难之事, not in casual speech. Pairs with verbs like 克服.

adjective
extremely difficultvery hard (to accomplish or overcome)

Examples

  • 万难，。
    Zhè jiàn shì zhēn shì wàn nán, wǒ men dé xiǎng bié de bàn fǎ.
    This matter is really extremely difficult; we need to think of another way.
  • 万难，。
    Zài wàn nán de qíng kuàng xià, tā yī rán méi yǒu fàng qì.
    In an extremely difficult situation, he still didn't give up.
  • 万难，。
    Kè fú wàn nán zhī hòu, wǒ men zhōng yú chéng gōng le.
    After overcoming the extreme difficulty, we finally succeeded.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

万wànten thousand
难nándifficulty

万 (ten thousand) and 难 (difficulty) together suggest extreme difficulty.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 萬; 万 is its simplified writing.

For 万, the form 萬 was originally a picture of a scorpion, later borrowed for its sound to write 'ten thousand'; the scorpion picture is unrelated to that number.

Open 万 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 難; 难 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
隹隹zhuībird
Sound part声符shēngfú
暵
暵hàn難nán
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional 難 pairs 隹, a bird, with 暵 for sound, and meant a type of bird. It was later borrowed for other meanings; the modern 难 is a shorthand.

Open 难 →

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