难解 難解 nán jiě hard to solve / hard to dispel / hard to understand / hard to undo 硙硙 磑磑 ái ái (literary) lofty / towering / (literary) glistening white / (literary) hard / solid / (literary) piled up 烙铁 烙鐵 lào tie flatiron / iron / branding iron / soldering iron syn 只要功夫深，铁杵磨成针 只要功夫深，鐵杵磨成針 zhǐ yào gōng fu shēn , tiě chǔ mó chéng zhēn If you work at it hard enough, you can grind an iron bar into a needle. / cf idiom 磨杵成針|磨杵成针, to grind an iron bar down to a fine needle (idiom) / fig. to persevere in a difficult task / to study diligently 难说 難說 nán shuō hard to tell (i.e. hard to judge or hard to predict) / cannot bring oneself to say it syn 秩 zhì (literary) salary according to rank / (literary) an official's rank / (literary) order / orderliness / (literary) decade syn 辟 bì (literary) king / monarch / (literary) (of a sovereign) to summon to official service / (literary) to avoid (variant of 避[bi4]) / (literary) to repel (variant of 避[bi4]) syn 舆 輿 yú (literary) chassis of a carriage (contrasted with the canopy 堪[kan1]) / (literary) (fig.) the earth (while the carriage canopy is a metaphor for heaven) / land / territory / (literary) carriage / (literary) sedan chair / palanquin / (bound form) the multitudes / the people / the public syn 倪 ní (literary) small child / (literary) limit / bound / extremity / (literary) to differentiate / (literary) origin / cause 攘 rǎng (literary) to push up one's sleeves / (literary) to reject / to resist / (literary) to seize / to steal / (literary) to perturb / Taiwan pr. [rang2] syn 阆 閬 làng (literary) vast / spacious / (literary) lofty / (literary) tall door / (literary) dry moat outside a city wall 钑 鈒 sà (literary) small halberd with an iron handle, used as a weapon or agricultural tool / (literary) to inlay / Taiwan pr. [se4] 铸铁 鑄鐵 zhù tiě pig iron / foundry iron syn 铁矿 鐵礦 tiě kuàng iron ore / iron ore mine 铁板 鐵板 tiě bǎn iron panel / hot iron plate for fast grilling (Japanese: teppan) 铁打 鐵打 tiě dǎ made of iron / strong as iron 铁幕 鐵幕 tiě mù Iron Curtain (1945-1991) (In Taiwan, the word was used to refer to both the Iron Curtain and the Bamboo Curtain.) 电烙铁 電烙鐵 diàn lào tie electric iron / electric soldering iron syn 熨 yùn an iron / to iron syn 钢柱 鋼柱 gāng zhù iron pillar / iron rod 李铁拐 李鐵拐 lǐ tiě guǎi Iron-Crutch Li, one of the Eight Immortals 八仙[Ba1 xian1] in Chinese mythology, walking around with an iron crutch and carrying a gourd with special medicine 铁律 鐵律 tiě lǜ an iron law / a cast-iron rule 铁血 鐵血 tiě xuè iron and blood / (fig.) weapons and war / bloody conflict / (of a person) iron-willed and ready to die 铁杆 鐵桿 tiě gǎn iron rod / zealous / die-hard 铁 鐵 tiě iron (metal) / arms / weapons / hard / strong / violent / unshakeable / determined / close / tight (slang) syn 斐然 fěi rán (literary) of great literary talent / (literary) (of achievements etc) brilliant / outstanding syn 婵娟 嬋娟 chán juān (literary) beautiful woman / (literary) lovely / graceful / (literary) the moon syn 第 dì (prefix indicating ordinal number, as in 第六[di4-liu4] "sixth") / (literary) grades in which successful candidates in the imperial examinations were placed / (old) residence of a high official / (literary) but / however / (literary) only / just syn 勒 lè (literary) bridle / halter / headstall / to rein in / to compel / to force / (literary) to carve / to engrave / (literary) to command / to lead (an army etc) / (physics) lux (abbr. for 勒克斯[le4ke4si1]) syn 俱 jù (literary) all / both / entirely / without exception / (literary) to be together / (literary) to be alike syn 聊 liáo (coll.) to chat / (literary) temporarily / for a while / (literary) somewhat / slightly / (literary) to depend upon syn 虞 yú (literary) to expect / to anticipate / (literary) to be concerned about / to be apprehensive / (literary) to deceive / to dupe syn 怃 憮 wǔ (literary) to have tender affection for / (literary) discouraged / disappointed / (literary) startled 蒐 sōu (literary) madder (Rubia cordifolia) / (literary) to hunt, esp. in spring / (literary) to gather / to collect 婵媛 嬋媛 chán yuán (literary) (of a woman) graceful / (literary) to be interwoven / (literary) to be emotionally involved 佹 guǐ (literary) perverse / unreasonable / (literary) eccentric / enigmatic / (literary) by chance / all of a sudden 塈 jì (literary) to plaster / (literary) to pick up / (literary) to rest 奭 shì (literary) majestic / magnificent / (literary) rich, deep red / (literary) angry / furious 庶几 庶幾 shù jī (literary) similar / almost / (literary) if only / it is to be hoped that / (literary) maybe / perhaps syn 努力 nǔ lì to make an effort / to try hard / to strive / hard-working / conscientious syn 辛苦 xīn kǔ exhausting / hard / tough / arduous / to work hard / to go to a lot of trouble / hardship(s) syn 移动硬盘 移動硬盤 yí dòng yìng pán portable hard drive / external hard drive 苦练 苦練 kǔ liàn to train hard / to practice diligently / hard work / blood, sweat, and tears 硬碟 yìng dié (Tw) hard disk / hard drive 难解难分 難解難分 nán jiě nán fēn hard to untie, hard to separate (idiom) / inextricably involved / locked in battle syn 积重难返 積重難返 jī zhòng nán fǎn ingrained habits are hard to overcome (idiom) / bad old practices die hard syn 刻苦耐劳 刻苦耐勞 kè kǔ nài láo to bear hardships and work hard (idiom) / assiduous and long-suffering / hard-working and capable of overcoming adversity syn 戴盆望天 dài pén wàng tiān lit. viewing the sky with a basin on one's head / it is hard to get a clear view of the sky while carrying a platter on one's head / fig. it is hard to get on in one's career while encumbered by family obligations / one can't perform a major task while bothered by other duties syn 良工心苦 liáng gōng xīn kǔ expert craft from hard practice (idiom) / hard-won skill / A masterpiece demands suffering. 疑难杂症 疑難雜症 yí nán zá zhèng dubious or hard-to-treat cases (medicine) / hard cases 难以应付 難以應付 nán yǐ yìng fù hard to deal with / hard to handle 硬磁盘 硬磁盤 yìng cí pán hard drive / hard disk 明枪好躲，暗箭难防 明槍好躲，暗箭難防 míng qiāng hǎo duǒ , àn jiàn nán fáng lit. easy to dodge the spear in the open, hard to avoid a stab in the dark (idiom) / it is hard to guard against secret conspiracies 明枪易躲，暗箭难防 明槍易躲，暗箭難防 míng qiāng yì duǒ , àn jiàn nán fáng lit. easy to dodge the spear in the open, hard to avoid a stab in the dark (idiom) / it is hard to guard against secret conspiracies 硬墙营房 硬牆營房 yìng qiáng yíng fáng hard-walled camp / hard-walled module / rigid structure 硬墙宿舍 硬墻宿舍 hard-walled camp / hard-walled module / rigid structure 储存场 儲存場 chǔ cún chǎng hard-standing / hard-stand 难搞 難搞 nán gǎo hard to deal with / hard to get along with 硬式磁碟机 硬式磁碟機 yìng shì cí dié jī hard disk / hard drive 硬编码 硬編碼 yìng biān mǎ (computing) to hard code / hard-coded 钴鉧 鈷鉧 gǔ mǔ (literary) clothes iron 钴𬭁 鈷鉧 gǔ mǔ (literary) clothes iron 垎 hè (literary) (of soil) dry and hard / (used in place names) 朦胧 朦朧 méng lóng (literary) (of moonlight) dim / (literary) murky / indistinct syn 所见 所見 suǒ jiàn (literary) what one sees / (literary) opinion / view 文体 文體 wén tǐ genre of writing / literary form / style / literary recreation and sporting activities 烟火 煙火 yān huǒ smoke and fire / cooked food / (literary) beacon fire / (literary) descendants / posterity syn 窈窕 yǎo tiǎo (literary) (of a woman) graceful and refined / comely / (esp.) slender / slim / (literary) (of a bower, a mountain stream or a boudoir within a palace etc) secluded syn 达人 達人 dá rén (coll.) expert / connoisseur / guru / enthusiast / geek (influenced by Japanese 達人 "tatsujin" c. 2000) / (literary) sensible person / person who understands life / (literary) optimist 文采 wén cǎi literary talent / literary grace / rich and bright colors syn 踌躇 躊躇 chóu chú to hesitate / (literary) to pace back and forth / (literary) self-satisfied syn 他日 tā rì (literary) some day / (literary) days in the past syn 眉宇 méi yǔ (literary) forehead / (literary) countenance / features syn 污秽 污穢 wū huì (literary) dirty / filthy / (literary) dirt / filth syn 东瀛 東瀛 dōng yíng (literary) East China Sea / (literary) Japan syn 名士 míng shì (old) a person of literary talent / a celebrity (esp. a distinguished literary person having no official post) syn 先祖 xiān zǔ (literary) my deceased grandfather / (literary) ancestors syn 惺惺 xīng xīng (literary) awake / (literary) intelligent / clever 顾盼 顧盼 gù pàn (literary) to look around / (literary) to care for syn 惺忪 xīng sōng drowsy-eyed / (literary) wavering / indecisive / (literary) awake / conscious / clearheaded syn 周章 zhōu zhāng (literary) effort / trouble / pains (to get sth done) / (literary) frightened / terrified 彪炳 biāo bǐng (literary) (of deeds, accomplishments etc) to shine brightly (in the annals of history etc) / (literary) outstanding / splendid / glorious 则 則 zé (literary) (conjunction used to express contrast with a previous clause) but / then / (bound form) standard / norm / (bound form) principle / (literary) to imitate / to follow / classifier for written items syn 整饬 整飭 zhěng chì (literary) to put in good order / to make shipshape / (literary) orderly / neat / tidy syn 睚眦 睚眥 yá zì (literary) to glare in anger / (literary) (fig.) a small grievance syn 羁旅 羈旅 jī lǚ (literary) to stay long in a place far from home / (literary) person who lives in an alien land 殊 shū (literary) to kill / to behead / to sever / to separate / to surpass / (bound form) different / (bound form) special / remarkable / (literary) very / extremely syn 摄 攝 shè (bound form) to take in / to absorb / to assimilate / to capture (video or still images) / (literary) to conserve (one's health) / (literary) to act for syn 柯 kē (literary) branch / stem / stalk / (literary) ax handle syn 骚 騷 sāo (bound form) to disturb / to disrupt / flirty / coquettish / abbr. for 離騷|离骚[Li2 Sao1] / (literary) literary writings / poetry / foul-smelling (variant of 臊[sao1]) / (dialect) (of certain domestic animals) male syn 詹 zhān (literary) verbose / (literary) to arrive, to reach 诡 詭 guǐ (bound form) sly / crafty / (literary) weird / bizarre / (literary) contradictory / inconsistent syn 藉 jiè (literary) cushion / mat / (literary) to put some padding underneath syn 裔 yì (bound form) descendants / (bound form) of ... ancestry (as in 華裔|华裔[Hua2yi4] "of Chinese descent") / (literary) distant lands / (literary) fringe / periphery syn 苑 yuàn (literary) enclosed area for growing trees, keeping animals etc / imperial garden / park / (literary) center (of arts, literature etc) syn 眩 xuàn (literary) dizzy / (literary) dazzled / bewildered / to dazzle (variant of 炫[xuan4]) syn 敛 斂 liǎn (literary) to hold back / (literary) to restrain / to control (oneself) / to collect / to gather / Taiwan pr. [lian4] syn 斐 fěi phonetic fei or fi / (literary) (bound form) rich with literary elegance / phi (Greek letter Φφ) 瑛 yīng (literary) translucent stone similar to jade / (literary) luster of jade 