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艱難辛苦 (かんなんしんく, kannanshinku) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

艱かん難なん辛しん苦く

か

ん

な

ん

し

ん

く

Meanings

1

hardships and difficulties; trials and tribulations

yojijukugo (four-character idiom)›

A yojijukugo (four-character compound) emphasizing severe, prolonged hardship. Often used in formal or literary contexts.

彼かれは艱かん難なん辛しん苦くを乗のり越こえ

て

成せい

功こう

し

た

。

He overcame many hardships and succeeded.

艱かん難なん辛しん苦くの末すえに、ついに夢ゆめを実じつ現げんした。

After enduring great difficulties, he finally realized his dream.

Kanji

艱difficult, trying, be distressed
難difficult, impossible, trouble
辛spicy, bitter, hot
苦suffering, trial, worry

Related words

苦く難なん
苦難 is a more common, less emphatic word for hardship or suffering, while 艱難辛苦 is a formal yojijukugo stressing accumulated trials.
辛しん苦く
辛苦 alone means hardship or toil, but 艱難辛苦 combines it with 艱難 to intensify the sense of prolonged adversity.

Built from

艱かん難なん+辛しん苦く

Etymology

A yojijukugo composed of 艱難 (かんなん, 'hardship') and 辛苦 (しんく, 'toil and suffering'), both of which are classical Chinese-derived terms. The compound emphasizes accumulated adversity.