难解 難解 nán jiě hard to solve / hard to dispel / hard to understand / hard to undo 做牛做马 做牛做馬 zuò niú zuò mǎ lit. to work like an ox, to work like a horse / fig. to work extremely hard 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 辛苦 xīn kǔ exhausting / hard / tough / arduous / to work hard / to go to a lot of trouble / hardship(s) syn 苦练 苦練 kǔ liàn to train hard / to practice diligently / hard work / blood, sweat, and tears 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 苦功 kǔ gōng hard work / laborious effort / painstaking work 脱皮掉肉 脫皮掉肉 tuō pí diào ròu lit. to shed skin, drop flesh / to work as hard as possible / to work one's butt off 埋头苦干 埋頭苦幹 mái tóu kǔ gàn to bury oneself in work (idiom) / to be engrossed in work / to make an all-out effort / up to the neck in work syn 误工 誤工 wù gōng to be late for or absent from work / to disrupt one's work / to cause a holdup in the work / loss of working time / a holdup syn 努力 nǔ lì to make an effort / to try hard / to strive / hard-working / conscientious syn 移动硬盘 移動硬盤 yí dòng yìng pán portable hard drive / external hard drive 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 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 力争 力爭 lì zhēng to work hard for / to do all one can / to contend strongly syn 奋战 奮戰 fèn zhàn to fight bravely / (fig.) to struggle / to work hard 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 打拼 dǎ pīn to work hard / to try to make a living 苦力 kǔ lì bitter work / hard toil / (loanword) coolie, unskilled Chinese laborer in colonial times syn 争气 爭氣 zhēng qì to work hard for sth / to resolve on improvement / determined not to fall short syn 操劳 操勞 cāo láo to work hard / to look after syn 发奋 發奮 fā fèn to make an effort / to push for sth / to work hard syn 劳苦 勞苦 láo kǔ to toil / hard work syn 任劳任怨 任勞任怨 rèn láo rèn yuàn to work hard without complaint (idiom) syn 血汗 xuè hàn (fig.) sweat and toil / hard work syn 劳碌 勞碌 láo lù to work hard / to toil syn 苦干 苦幹 kǔ gàn to work hard 千锤百炼 千錘百鍊 qiān chuí bǎi liàn after hard work and numerous revisions (idiom) / the vicissitudes of life syn 逆水行舟 nì shuǐ xíng zhōu lit. navigating a boat against the current (idiom) / fig. in a tough environment (one needs to work hard) syn 开足马力 開足馬力 kāi zú mǎ lì to accelerate at full power (idiom) / at full speed / fig. to work as hard as possible syn 拼死拼活 pīn sǐ pīn huó one's utmost / (to fight or work) desperately hard / to put up a life or death struggle / at all costs syn 劳而无功 勞而無功 láo ér wú gōng to work hard while accomplishing little / to toil to no avail syn 笨鸟先飞 笨鳥先飛 bèn niǎo xiān fēi lit. the clumsy bird flies early (idiom) / fig. to work hard to compensate for one's limited abilities syn 苦心孤诣 苦心孤詣 kǔ xīn gū yì to make painstaking efforts (idiom) / after much trouble / to work hard at sth syn 累 lèi tired / weary / to strain / to wear out / to work hard syn 反裘负刍 反裘負芻 fǎn qiú fù chú lit. to wear one's coat inside out and carry firewood on one's back (idiom) / fig. to live a life of poverty and hard work / fig. to act stupidly 闭门觅句 閉門覓句 bì mén mì jù lit. lock the door and search for the right word (idiom) / fig. the serious hard work of writing 齐心合力 齊心合力 qí xīn hé lì to work as one (idiom) / united in a concerted effort / working hard together syn 前人栽树，后人乘凉 前人栽樹，後人乘涼 qián rén zāi shù , hòu rén chéng liáng to enjoy the benefits of the hard work of one's predecessors. (idiom) 勤俭建国 勤儉建國 qín jiǎn jiàn guó (idiom) to build up the country through thrift and hard work 勤俭起家 勤儉起家 qín jiǎn qǐ jiā to rise up by thrift and hard work (idiom) 勤劳致富 勤勞致富 qín láo zhì fù to get rich through hard work 千锤百鍊 千錘百鍊 qiān chuí bǎi liàn (idiom) after hard work and numerous revisions / the vicissitudes of life 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 夙兴夜寐 夙興夜寐 sù xīng yè mèi to rise early and sleep late (idiom) / to work hard / to study diligently / to burn the candle at both ends syn 将勤补绌 將勤補絀 jiāng qín bǔ chù to compensate for lack of ability through hard work (idiom) 打翻身仗 dǎ fān shēn zhàng to work hard towards a turnaround / to fight to reverse sth 苦劳 苦勞 kǔ láo toil / hard work 劳心劳力 勞心勞力 láo xīn láo lì to tax one's mind and body / demanding (work) / dedicated (worker) / hard-working 凤凰男 鳳凰男 fèng huáng nán (Internet slang) guy who grew up in the countryside and gained a foothold in the city through hard work 将勤补拙 將勤補拙 jiāng qín - bǔ zhuō (idiom) to compensate for lack of ability with hard work 特别 特別 tè bié unusual / special / very / especially / particularly / expressly / for a specific purpose / (often followed by 是[shi4]) in particular syn 特别是 特別是 tè bié shì especially syn 尤其是 yóu qí shì especially / most of all / above all / in particular 高考 gāo kǎo college entrance exam (especially as abbr. for 普通高等學校招生全國統一考試|普通高等学校招生全国统一考试[Pu3 tong1 Gao1 deng3 Xue2 xiao4 Zhao1 sheng1 Quan2 guo2 Tong3 yi1 Kao3 shi4]) / (Tw) entrance exam for senior government service posts (abbr. for 公務人員高等考試|公务人员高等考试) 尤其 yóu qí especially / particularly syn 格外 gé wài especially / particularly syn 抗战 抗戰 kàng zhàn war of resistance, especially the war against Japan (1937-1945) 尤为 尤為 yóu wéi especially syn 酸菜 suān cài pickled vegetables, especially Chinese cabbage 扬子江 揚子江 yáng zǐ jiāng Changjiang 長江|长江 or Yangtze River / old name for Changjiang, especially lower reaches around Yangzhou 揚州|扬州 国耻 國恥 guó chǐ national humiliation, refers to Japanese incursions into China in the 1930s and 40s, and more especially to Mukden railway incident of 18th September 1931 九一八事變|九一八事变 and subsequent Japanese annexation of Manchuria 新文化运动 新文化運動 xīn wén huà yùn dòng the New Culture Movement (mid-1910s and 1920s), intellectual revolution against Confucianism aiming to introduce Western elements, especially democracy and science 特急 tè jí especially urgent / top priority 特 té special / unique / distinguished / especially / unusual / very syn 特 tè special / unique / distinguished / especially / unusual / very / abbr. for 特克斯[te4 ke4 si1], tex syn 业障 業障 yè zhàng karmic hindrance (Buddhism) / karmic consequences that stand in the way of enlightenment / (term of abuse, especially toward the younger generation) devil spawn / (fig.) money syn 单身贵族 單身貴族 dān shēn guì zú fig. unmarried person / single person (especially one who is comfortable financially) 脚踏两条船 腳踏兩條船 jiǎo tà liǎng tiáo chuán lit. to stand with each foot in a different boat (idiom) / fig. to have it both ways / to run after two hares / (especially) to have two lovers at the same time 省察 xǐng chá to examine / to cast a critical eye over (especially in the context of introspection) syn 尤 yóu outstanding / particularly, especially / a fault / to express discontentment against syn 盥 guàn to wash (especially hands) 睺 hóu (appears as phonetic ho, especially in words taken from Sanskrit) / half-blind (archaic) 份外 fèn wài (adv) especially / (n) not ones responsibility or job 当当车 噹噹車 dāng dāng chē (coll.) tram, especially Beijing trams during period of operation 1924-1956 / also written 鐺鐺車|铛铛车[dang1 dang1 che1] 宠擅专房 寵擅專房 chǒng shàn zhuān fáng an especially favored concubine (idiom) 尤指 yóu zhǐ especially / particularly 沉潭 chén tán to sink sb to the bottom of a pond (a kind of private punishment, especially for unfaithful wives) 铛铛车 鐺鐺車 dāng dāng chē (coll.) tram, especially Beijing trams during period of operation 1924-1956 / also written 噹噹車|当当车[dang1 dang1 che1] 特别设计或配备的 especially designed or prepared 特困女童 girl children in especially difficult circumstances 拉姆萨尔公约 拉姆薩爾公約 Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat / Ramsar Convention 处境特别困难儿童 處境特別困難兒童 children in especially difficult circumstances 丝足 絲足 sī zú feet and legs in silk stockings (especially in the massage context) 羊肚手巾 yáng dù shǒu jīn (dialect) towel (especially worn as a turban) 