难以
nányǐ · HSK 5
be difficult to
难 (difficult) + 以 (to/by means of) = hard to do
难 means difficult; 以 is a grammatical particle meaning to or by means of. Together 难以 = hard to [verb], used before verbs like 相信 (believe) or 接受 (accept).
难 — 又 (right hand) + 隹 (short-tailed bird)
Originally written with 堇 (clay) plus 隹 (bird), 難 depicted a rare bird and was borrowed to mean 'difficult.' The modern simplified form replaces the left side with 又 (hand). The phonetic role of the original left component gave the reading nán.
以 — phonetic 㠯 (plow/tool) + 人 (person)
Originally a pictograph of a hand-held plow or tool (㠯), later combined with 人 (person) to suggest 'using' something. The core meaning 'to use' extended metaphorically to 'by means of', 'with', and 'because of'. In modern Chinese it functions mainly as a grammatical particle.