艰 jiān difficult
difficult; hard; hardship
How to remember 艰: 又 again + 艮 stubborn = difficult. The toddler pushes the spoon away again, stubborn as a mule, and feeding him becomes difficult.
Component breakdown
艰 = 又 again + 艮 stubborn
- 又 again
- 艮 stubborn
The toddler pushes the spoon away again, stubborn as a mule, and feeding him becomes difficult.
How it is used
- 艰 is bound and exclusively written/formal register, meaning hardship or difficulty - you won't hear it in casual chat, where 难 nán or 困难 kùnnan cover the everyday sense.
- 艰难 jiānnán (difficult, of circumstances) and 艰苦 jiānkǔ (hard/tough, of conditions people endure, e.g. 艰苦的环境 harsh conditions) are the two most common pairings.
- 艰巨 jiānjù describes a task that's arduous and heavy in responsibility (艰巨的任务 an arduous task), while 艰辛 jiānxīn is the noun for the hardships/toil someone has gone through.