艰辛

jiān xīn · HSK 7

arduous

😣 艰 difficult + 辛 bitter toil = hardships you grind through

Both characters carry hard meanings: 艰 jiān is difficult, 辛 xīn is bitter or laborious (the same 辛 in 辛苦). Stacked together they mean arduous, back-breaking hardship.

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