A difficult experience that tests one's strength, faith, or character; often used in serious or spiritual contexts.
There are many trials in life.
He overcame a great ordeal.
God put him through a great trial.
She has endured every trial that came her way.
We have to overcome this trial.
He faced up to a difficult trial.
困難 refers to difficulty or hardship in general, while 試練 implies a purposeful trial that tests one's character or faith.
試験 is a concrete test or exam, while 試練 is an abstract, often spiritual or emotional ordeal.
苦難 emphasizes the suffering and hardship itself, while 試練 frames the hardship as something that tests or strengthens a person.
逆境 describes an adverse situation or circumstance one is in, whereas 試練 focuses on the testing experience itself.
試練 means a trial or ordeal in general, while 洗礼 in this sense specifically frames a first hard experience as a kind of baptism.
試練 frames hardship as a test that reveals or builds character, whereas 受難 emphasizes the suffering itself without that testing nuance.
試練 focuses on a trial or test that builds character, whereas 荒波 evokes the relentless, buffeting nature of life's troubles.
試練 means a trial or ordeal one must endure, whereas 試金石 is a criterion or occasion that reveals true quality, not necessarily painful.
Standard modern spelling; used in news and everyday writing.
Rarely used kanji form; 錬 is not a standard Jōyō kanji for this word.
Rarely used kanji form; 煉 is not a standard Jōyō kanji for this word.
Compound of 試 (test) and 練 (train, refine). The spelling 試練 is now standard; older forms 試煉 and 試錬 are rare.