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艰辛 (jiān xīn) — arduous, difficult

Definition

艰辛 stresses long, painful effort behind an outcome — 'arduous, hard-won.' Broader than 艰苦 (hardship of conditions) and stronger than 辛苦 (day-to-day exhaustion).

adjective
arduousdifficult

Examples

  • 艰辛。
    Zhè cì lǚ xíng shí fēn jiān xīn.
    This trip was extremely arduous.
  • 艰辛。
    Tā jīng lì le jiān xīn de shēng huó.
    He experienced a difficult life.
  • 艰辛。
    Chéng gōng de bèi hòu shì jiān xīn de nǔ lì.
    Behind success lies arduous effort.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

艰jiānhard
辛xīnpainful

艰 (hard) and 辛 (painful) combine to describe arduous hardship.

Characters in this word

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 艱; 艰 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
𦰩𦰩𦰩
Sound part声符shēngfú
艮
艮gèn艱jiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 艱 pairs 𦰩 for meaning with 艮 for sound; the simplified 艰 is a later abbreviation.

Open 艰 →

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

The oldest forms of 辛 drew a newly grown tree shoot. The shape was later also read as a sharp marking tool, but that reading may come from confusing it with another character.

Open 辛 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6

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