难得
nándé · HSK 5
hard to come by
💎 难 = difficult + 得 = obtain → difficult to obtain, hence rare
难 (nán) means difficult and 得 (dé) means to get or obtain. Together: difficult-to-get, used for things that are rare or precious. Often said about opportunities or qualities that don't come around often.
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.
得 — 彳 (step) + 旦 (sun/day) + 寸 (hand)
Originally depicted a hand 寸 reaching for a cowrie shell 貝 (later simplified to 旦), with 彳 'step' added to show going out and obtaining something. The core meaning is 'to get' or 'obtain'. The reading děi extends this to 'must/have to' — what one is obliged to get done.