Chinese word

磨难

Pronunciation

Pinyinmó nàn

Meaning

  • nounhardship

Example

我们一起度过了很多磨难。wǒ men yì qǐ dù guò le hěn duō mó nàn

We went through many hardships together.

Illustration for 磨难 (hardship)

More examples

他靠坚强的意志克服了磨难。tā kào jiān qiáng de yì zhì kè fú le mó nàn

He overcame hardship with strong willpower.

Core concept

A stretch of life marked by painful difficulties that test a person's ability to endure and move forward.

Common phrases

  • 遭受磨难zāo shòu mó nàn

    suffer hardship

  • 经历磨难jīng lì mó nàn

    go through hardship

  • 克服磨难kè fú mó nàn

    overcome hardship

  • 度过磨难dù guò mó nàn

    get through hardship

Similar words

困难kùn nán: A problem or situation that is hard to handle and holds back progress.
苦难kǔ nàn: Serious, long-lasting suffering or misfortune that deeply affects a person's life.
挫折cuò zhé: A distressing setback when a plan fails or a goal cannot be reached.
困境kùn jìng: An unfavorable situation or position that is difficult to escape.

Definition in Chinese

指生活或成长过程中遇到的艰苦遭遇或痛苦经历。zhǐ shēng huó huò chéng zhǎng guò chéng zhōng yù dào de jiān kǔ zāo yù huò tòng kǔ jīng lì

Word origin

磨难 (mónàn, "hardship") combines 磨 (mó, "to grind") with 难 (nàn, "difficulty"), creating the image of life being ground down by painful difficulties.

Usage tips

  • In everyday speech, this term usually points to major life troubles rather than an ordinary problem with a simple solution.

Other meanings

  • ordealnoun
  • sufferingnoun
  • strugglenoun

Opposites

Word lists with this word