强人所难 (qiǎng rén suǒ nán) — to impose a difficult task on someone; to force…

Definition

A chéngyǔ meaning to force someone to do something they can't or don't want to do. It frames the action as unreasonable pressure on another person.

idiom

to impose a difficult task on someoneto force someone to do something they are unwilling or unable to do

，，强人所难？
Tā míng míng bú huì yóu yǒng, nǐ què ràng tā qù jiù luò shuǐ de rén, zhè bú shì qiǎng rén suǒ nán ma?
He clearly can't swim, yet you ask him to save the drowning person — isn't that imposing an impossible task on him?
，强人所难。
Péng you zhī jiān hù xiāng bāng máng shì yīng gāi de, dàn bú yào qiǎng rén suǒ nán.
It's fine for friends to help each other, but don't force them to do things they can't.
，强人所难。
Lǎo bǎn ràng yí gè xīn shǒu sān tiān nèi wán chéng zhè ge xiàng mù, jiǎn zhí shì qiǎng rén suǒ nán.
The boss asked a newcomer to finish this project in three days — that's really imposing an impossible task.

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 強; 强 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 強 pairs an insect component with a sound component; this explains 強, not the simplified 强.

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

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

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

戶斤所

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

戶

戶hù所suǒ

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

所 pairs 斤, an axe, with 戶, which gives the sound hù; the old meaning was the sound of logging.

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.

Appears in