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困难重重 (kùn nan chóng chóng) — beset with difficulties; riddled with problems

Definition

A chengyu-style idiom meaning 'plenty of difficulties piled up' — 重重 (chóngchóng) emphasizes repetition and accumulation, stronger than saying just 困难.

idiom
beset with difficultiesriddled with problems

Examples

  • 困难重重，。
    Zhè ge xiàng mù kùn nan chóng chóng, xū yào dà jiā qí xīn xié lì.
    This project is beset with difficulties; everyone needs to work together.
  • 困难重重，。
    Chuàng yè chū qī kùn nan chóng chóng, dàn jiān chí xià lái jiù néng chéng gōng.
    The early stages of starting a business are full of difficulties, but if you persist you can succeed.
  • 困难重重，。
    Jǐn guǎn kùn nan chóng chóng, tā men hái shì àn shí wán chéng le rèn wu.
    Despite being beset with difficulties, they still completed the task on time.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

困难difficulties
困kùndifficult难nándifficult
联合Coordinate
重重layer upon layer
重zhònglayer重zhònglayer
重叠Reduplication

困难 points to difficulties, and 重重 adds layer upon layer, so problems seem endless.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 囗囗wéisurround
  • 木木mùwood

困 is drawn as 木 (wood) enclosed by 囗 (surround). The evidence says this was probably the original form of a word meaning 'doorsill'.

Open 困 →

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 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
人人rénman
Sound part声符shēngfú
東
東dōng重zhòng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

重 developed from a picture of a man carrying a bag, with 人 for the man and 東 for the bag; a later ground element was folded into the form.

Open 重 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
人人rénman
Sound part声符shēngfú
東
東dōng重zhòng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

重 developed from a picture of a man carrying a bag, with 人 for the man and 東 for the bag; a later ground element was folded into the form.

Open 重 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

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