勉为其难 (miǎn wéi qí nán) — to force oneself to do a difficult task; to reluctantly undertake something hard

Definition

An idiom meaning to force oneself to do something difficult or reluctantly accept a hard task. It highlights unwillingness more than ability — the person does it out of obligation, not eagerness.

idiom
to force oneself to do a difficult taskto reluctantly undertake something hard

Examples

  • ，勉为其难。
    Suī rán zhè ge xiàng mù hěn nán, dàn tā hái shì miǎn wéi qí nán dì jiē shòu le.
    Even though this project is very difficult, he still reluctantly took it on.
  • ，勉为其难。
    Tā bú tài xǐ huan zuò fàn, dàn wèi le kè rén hái shì miǎn wéi qí nán xià chú le.
    She doesn't really like cooking, but for the guests she forced herself to go into the kitchen.
  • ，勉为其难。
    Lǎo shī ràng wǒ zuò bān zhǎng, wǒ zhǐ hǎo miǎn wéi qí nán dāng zhè ge zhí wèi.
    The teacher asked me to be class monitor, so I had to reluctantly take the position.

Origin

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
力力lìstrong
Sound part声符shēngfú
免
免miǎn勉miǎn
Same sound today

勉 puts 力, meaning strong, beside 免, which gives the sound. The shape shows making a strong effort.

Open 勉 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 為; 为 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 為 showed a hand holding an elephant; the simplified 为 is a later shorthand.

Open 为 →

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

The modern form 其 comes from an early drawing of a basket, with a stand added underneath.

Open 其 →

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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