老 lǎo prefix used before the surname of a person or a numeral indicating the order of birth of the children in a family or to indicate affection or familiarity / old (of people) / venerable (person) / experienced / of long standing / always / all the time / of the past / very / outdated / (of meat etc) tough / unicode compatibility variant of 老 syn 整 zhěng (bound form) whole / complete / entire / (before a measure word) whole / (before or after number + measure word) exactly / (bound form) in good order / tidy / neat / (bound form) to put in order / to straighten / (bound form) to repair / to mend / to renovate / (coll.) to fix sb / to give sb a hard time / to mess with sb / (dialect) to tinker with / to do sth to syn 努力 nǔ lì to make an effort / to try hard / to strive / hard-working / conscientious syn 目录 目錄 mù lù catalog / table of contents / directory (on computer hard drive) / list / contents syn 分配 fēn pèi to distribute / to assign / to allocate / to partition (a hard drive) syn 辛苦 xīn kǔ exhausting / hard / tough / arduous / to work hard / to go to a lot of trouble / hardship(s) syn 难得 難得 nán dé seldom / rare / hard to come by syn 层次 層次 céng cì layer / level / gradation / arrangement of ideas / (a person's) standing syn 沉重 chén zhòng heavy / hard / serious / critical syn 艰难 艱難 jiān nán difficult / hard / challenging syn 难免 難免 nán miǎn hard to avoid / difficult to escape from / will inevitably syn 艰苦 艱苦 jiān kǔ difficult / hard / arduous syn 力争 力爭 lì zhēng to work hard for / to do all one can / to contend strongly syn 顽强 頑強 wán qiáng tenacious / hard to defeat syn 坚固 堅固 jiān gù firm / firmly / hard / stable syn 坚硬 堅硬 jiān yìng hard / solid syn 难堪 難堪 nán kān hard to take / embarrassed syn 用功 yòng gōng diligent / industrious (in one's studies) / to study hard / to make great effort syn 苦练 苦練 kǔ liàn to train hard / to practice diligently / hard work / blood, sweat, and tears 受罪 shòu zuì to endure / to suffer / hardships / torments / a hard time / a nuisance syn 闭塞 閉塞 bì sè to stop up / to close up / hard to get to / out of the way / inaccessible / unenlightened / blocking syn 争气 爭氣 zhēng qì to work hard for sth / to resolve on improvement / determined not to fall short syn 血汗钱 血汗錢 xuè hàn qián hard-earned money syn 操劳 操勞 cāo láo to work hard / to look after syn 硬笔 硬筆 yìng bǐ generic term for hard writing instruments such as quill pens, fountain pens, ball pens and pencils, as opposed to writing brushes 难兄难弟 難兄難弟 nán xiōng nán dì lit. hard to differentiate between elder and younger brother (idiom) / fig. one is just as bad as the other syn 苦尽甘来 苦盡甘來 kǔ jìn gān lái bitterness finishes, sweetness begins (idiom) / the hard times are over, the good times just beginning syn 千锤百炼 千錘百鍊 qiān chuí bǎi liàn after hard work and numerous revisions (idiom) / the vicissitudes of life syn 刚 剛 gāng hard / firm / strong / just / barely / exactly syn 背 bèi the back of a body or object / to turn one's back / to hide something from / to learn by heart / to recite from memory / unlucky (slang) / hard of hearing syn 赵乐际 趙樂際 zhào lè jì Zhao Leji (1957-), member of the Politburo Standing Committee and Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection 硬 yìng hard / stiff / solid / (fig.) strong / firm / resolutely / uncompromisingly / laboriously / with great difficulty / good (quality) / able (person) / (of food) filling / substantial syn 累 lèi tired / weary / to strain / to wear out / to work hard syn 挨 ái to suffer / to endure / to pull through (hard times) / to delay / to stall / to play for time / to dawdle syn 磕 kē to tap / to knock (against sth hard) / to knock (mud from boots, ashes from a pipe etc) syn 孤军奋战 孤軍奮戰 gū jūn fèn zhàn lit. lone army putting up a brave fight (idiom) / fig. (of a person or group of people) struggling hard without support syn 手头紧 手頭緊 shǒu tóu jǐn short of money / hard up syn 难以 難以 nán yǐ hard to (predict, imagine etc) syn 硬盘 硬盤 yìng pán hard disk 常委会 常委會 cháng wěi huì standing committee 想不到 xiǎng bu dào unexpected / hard to imagine / it had not occurred to me / who could have thought that syn 常委 cháng wěi standing committee (abbr. for 常務委員會|常务委员会[chang2wu4 wei3yuan2hui4]) / member of the standing committee (abbr. for 常務委員|常务委员[chang2wu4 wei3yuan2]) 苦苦 kǔ kǔ strenuously / persistently / hard / painful 站立 zhàn lì to stand / standing / on one's feet syn 机车 機車 jī chē locomotive / train engine car / (Tw) scooter / (Tw) (slang) hard to get along with / to be a pain in the ass / (Tw) damn! / crap! syn 疑难 疑難 yí nán hard to understand / difficult to deal with / knotty / complicated syn 强硬 強硬 qiáng yìng tough / unyielding / hard-line syn 力学 力學 lì xué mechanics / to study hard 迷离 迷離 mí lí blurred / hard to make out distinctly syn 常务委员会 常務委員會 cháng wù wěi yuán huì standing committee (e.g. of National People's Congress) 难以置信 難以置信 nán yǐ zhì xìn (idiom) hard to believe / incredible syn 硬座 yìng zuò hard seat (on trains or boats) 硬卧 硬臥 yìng wò hard sleeper (a type of sleeper train ticket class with a harder bunk) 移动硬盘 移動硬盤 yí dòng yìng pán portable hard drive / external hard drive 不可多得 bù kě duō dé hard to come by / rare syn 大宗 dà zōng large amount / staple / influential family of long standing syn 奋战 奮戰 fèn zhàn to fight bravely / (fig.) to struggle / to work hard syn 力图 力圖 lì tú to try hard to / to strive to syn 卖力 賣力 mài lì to work hard / to do one's very best / to throw oneself into the task at hand syn 无间 無間 wú jiàn very close / no gap between them / continuously / unbroken / hard to separate / indistinguishable syn 难保 難保 nán bǎo hard to say / can't guarantee / difficult to protect / difficult to preserve syn 矗立 chù lì to tower / standing tall and upright (of large building) syn 金石 jīn shí metal and stone / fig. hard objects / inscription on metal or bronze 硬碟 yìng dié (Tw) hard disk / hard drive 打拼 dǎ pīn to work hard / to try to make a living 难解 難解 nán jiě hard to solve / hard to dispel / hard to understand / hard to undo 手软 手軟 shǒu ruǎn to be lenient / to relent / to be reluctant to make a hard decision / to think twice syn 症结 癥結 zhēng jié hard lump in the abdomen (in Chinese medicine) / crux of an issue / main point in an argument / sticking point / deadlock in negotiations syn 苦战 苦戰 kǔ zhàn bitter struggle / hard battle / arduous effort syn 纸质 紙質 zhǐ zhì (attributive) paper / hard-copy / printed / paper quality 窘迫 jiǒng pò poverty-stricken / very poor / hard-pressed / in a predicament / embarrassed syn 铁杆 鐵桿 tiě gǎn iron rod / zealous / die-hard 好容易 hǎo róng yì (idiomatic usage) with great difficulty / to have a hard time (convincing sb, relinquishing sth etc) / (literal usage) so easy syn 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 费解 費解 fèi jiě to be puzzled / hard to understand / unintelligible / incomprehensible syn 松软 鬆軟 sōng ruǎn flexible / not rigid / spongy / soft or runny (not set hard) / loose (soil) syn 硬性 yìng xìng rigid / inflexible / hard (drug) syn 死守 sǐ shǒu to defend one's property to the death / to cling obstinately to old habits / die-hard syn 难缠 難纏 nán chán (usu. of people) difficult / demanding / troublesome / unreasonable / hard to deal with 刁难 刁難 diāo nàn to be hard on sb / to deliberately make things difficult / Taiwan pr. [diao1nan2] syn 左右为难 左右為難 zuǒ yòu wéi nán (idiom) between a rock and a hard place / in a dilemma syn 苦力 kǔ lì bitter work / hard toil / (loanword) coolie, unskilled Chinese laborer in colonial times syn 恶战 惡戰 è zhàn hard fighting / fierce battle syn 苦命 kǔ mìng hard lot / bitter fate / unfortunate syn 血本 xuè běn hard-earned capital syn 难熬 難熬 nán áo (of pain or hardship) hard to bear 难测 難測 nán cè hard to fathom 想不开 想不開 xiǎng bu kāi cannot figure out / to be unable to take a lighter view / to take things too hard / to be depressed / to fret over trifles syn 吃紧 吃緊 chī jǐn in short supply / dire / tense / critical / hard-pressed / important syn 紧逼 緊逼 jǐn bī to press hard / to close in on syn 焦头烂额 焦頭爛額 jiāo tóu làn é lit. badly burned about the head (from trying to put out a fire) (idiom) / fig. hard-pressed / under pressure (from a heavy workload, creditors etc) syn 坐立不安 zuò lì bù ān lit. agitated sitting or standing (idiom) / restless / fidgety syn 笔挺 筆挺 bǐ tǐng (standing) very straight / straight as a ramrod / bolt upright / well-ironed / trim syn 拮据 jié jū hard pressed for money / in financial straits syn 脱皮 脫皮 tuō pí (of paint etc) to peel off / to flake off / (of an insect or snake etc) to molt / (of skin) to peel off due to hard labor, blistering or sunburn etc / (fig.) to go through a grueling experience syn 贾庆林 賈慶林 jiǎ qìng lín Jia Qinglin (1940-), member of the Politburo Standing Committee 2002-2012 正规军 正規軍 zhèng guī jūn regular army / standing army 发奋 發奮 fā fèn to make an effort / to push for sth / to work hard syn 安全帽 ān quán mào safety helmet / hard hat / CL:頂|顶[ding3] 