排除万难 (pái chú wàn nán) — to overcome all difficulties; to surmount every obstacle

Definition

A formal, written expression meaning 'to overcome every obstacle' — stronger and more literary than everyday 克服. Used in speeches, reports, and narrative prose, rarely in casual speech.

verb
to overcome all difficultiesto surmount every obstacle

Examples

  • ，。
    Tā men pái chú le suǒ yǒu wàn nán, zhōng yú shí xiàn le mù biāo.
    They overcame all difficulties and finally achieved their goal.
  • 排除万难，。
    Zhǐ yǒu pái chú wàn nán, cái néng qǔ dé chéng gōng.
    Only by overcoming all obstacles can one achieve success.
  • 排除万难，。
    Tā men píng jiè jiān dìng de xìn niàn pái chú wàn nán, wán chéng le zhè ge xiàng mù.
    With firm faith, they overcame all difficulties and completed this project.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

排除eliminate
排páieliminate除chúremove
联合Side by side
万难all difficulties
万wànten thousand难nándifficulty
偏正Modifier + head

排 and 除 both mean eliminate, and 万难 means ten thousand difficulties, so all obstacles are removed.

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
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
非
非fēi排pái
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

排 uses 扌 (hand) to show arranging something with the hand, and 非 for the sound; this gives the sense of placing things in a line.

Open 排 →

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
阜阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
余
余yú除chú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

除 is built from 阜 and 余, with 余 giving the sound.

Open 除 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 萬; 万 is its simplified writing.

For 万, the form 萬 was originally a picture of a scorpion, later borrowed for its sound to write 'ten thousand'; the scorpion picture is unrelated to that number.

Open 万 →

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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