历尽艰辛 (lì jìn jiān xīn) — to have endured all kinds of hardships; to have gone through many difficulties

Definition

Literary verb phrase meaning to have gone through every kind of hardship — the 尽 ('exhaust') emphasizes the completeness of the suffering, stronger than 经历 'to experience'. Common in narrative prose about overcoming adversity.

verb
to have endured all kinds of hardshipsto have gone through many difficulties

Examples

  • 历尽艰辛。
    Tā lì jìn jiān xīn cái qǔ dé le jīn tiān de chéng gōng.
    He endured all kinds of hardships before achieving today's success.
  • 历尽艰辛，。
    Zhè duì fū fù lì jìn jiān xīn, zhōng yú bǎ hái zi yǎng dà le.
    This couple went through many hardships and finally raised their child.
  • 历尽艰辛，。
    lì jìn jiān xīn Zhī hòu, tā men zhōng yú zhǎo dào le shī sàn duō nián de qīn rén.
    After enduring all kinds of hardships, they finally found their long-lost relatives.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 歷; 历 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 历 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (简历, 经历) it is 歷; in others (日历) it is 曆.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
止止zhǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
厤
厤lì歷lì
Same sound today

The form 歷 pairs 止 with the sound part 厤.

Open 历 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 盡; 尽 is its simplified writing.

  • 聿聿yùhand holding a brush
  • 灬灬huǒbristles
  • 皿皿mǐndish

The traditional form 盡 shows 聿 (hand holding a brush) and 灬 (bristles) over 皿 (dish), cleaning a dish until it is empty. The simplified 尽 is a shorthand, not those historical parts.

Open 尽 →

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 →

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