拦路虎 (lán lù hǔ) — (figurative) obstacle, stumbling block; (literal, archaic) highway robber

Definition

A figurative noun meaning 'obstacle' or 'stumbling block' — literally a 'tiger blocking the road'. Always used metaphorically for a difficulty that stands in one's way; the literal highway-robber sense is archaic.

noun
(figurative) obstaclestumbling block(literal, archaic) highway robber

Examples

  • 拦路虎
    Zhè ge shēng cí shì xué xí zhōng wén de yí gè dà lán lù hǔ.
    This new word is a big obstacle in learning Chinese.
  • 拦路虎
    Zài wǒ men xiàng mù de tuī jìn guò chéng zhōng yù dào le hěn duō lán lù hǔ.
    We encountered many obstacles during the progress of our project.
  • 拦路虎
    Zhǐ yào bú pà lán lù hǔ, jiù yí dìng néng chéng gōng.
    As long as you are not afraid of obstacles, you will surely succeed.

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