difficult ⇒ 他面临两难选择。 Tā miànlín liǎngnán xuǎnzé. → He's facing some difficult choices.

embarrassed

be in a quandary

make things difficult ⇒ 他这是故意刁难我们。 Tā zhè shì gùyì diāonàn wǒmen. → He is intentionally making things difficult for us.

danger ⇒ 他有危难时,总能找朋友帮忙。 Tā yǒu wēinàn shí, zǒng néng zhǎo péngyou bāngmáng. → When he was in danger, he could always look to his friends for help.

revolt ⇒ 他们向政府发难。 Tāmen xiàng zhèngfǔ fānàn. → They revolted against the government.

( 指事情 ) difficult ⇒ 克服困难 kèfú kùnnan → overcome difficulties

national crisis ( pl crises )

adversity

die in an accident ⇒ 这家公司向死难者家属进行了赔付。 Zhè jiā gōngsī xiàng sǐnànzhě jiāshǔ jìnxíngle péifù. → The company gave compensation to the families of the victims of the accident.

die ⇒ 他在抗洪救灾中不幸殉难。 Tā zài kànghóng jiùzāi zhōng bùxìng xùnnàn. → Sadly, he died fighting the floods.

disaster

knotty

hardship

air crash

( 书 ) have a fatal accident

hard ⇒ 他们生活艰难。 Tāmen shēnghuó jiānnán. → Their life is hard. ⇒ 这位病人觉得走路很艰难。 Zhèwèi bìngrén jué de zǒulù hěn jiānnán. → The invalid finds it difficult to walk.

hardship

suffer misfortune

flee from disaster ( pt , pp fled )

( 意外死亡 ) be killed in an accident

take refuge ( pt took ) , pp taken

( 使人为难 ) embarrass

hard ⇒ 没有本科学历,难于找工作。 Méiyǒu běnkē xuélì, nányú zhǎo gōngzuò. → Without an undergraduate degree it can be hard to find work.

( 医 ) have a difficult labour

hard ⇒ 难以启齿 nányǐ qǐchǐ → not know where to start ⇒ 难以置信 nányǐ zhìxìn → hard to believe

be unavoidable ⇒ 年轻人犯点错误是难免的,关键要从中吸取教训。 Niánqīngrén fàn diǎn cuòwù shì nánmiǎn de, guānjiàn yào cóngzhōng xīqǔ jiàoxùn. → It's unavoidable that young people will make mistakes. The important thing is that they learn from them.

crisis ( pl crises )

( 指身体 ) not feel well ⇒ 我头疼得难受。 Wǒ tóuténg de nánshòu. → I've got a bad headache.

( 不悦耳 ) sound awful

( 尴尬 ) embarrassed ⇒ 他因为没钱付小费而感到难堪。 Tā yīnwèi méi qián fù xiǎofèi ér gǎndào nánkān. → He felt embarrassed at not having enough money for a tip.

be hard to get along with

⇒ 难怪一个人找不到,原来今天不上班。 Nánguài yī gè rén zhǎo bù dào, yuánlái jīntiān bù shàngbān. → No wonder no one's here — it's not a working day!

refugee

( 丑 ) ugly

be hard to say ⇒ 他来不来还难说。 Tā lái bù lái hái nánshuō. → It's hard to say if he'll come or not.

have a hard time ⇒ 他挣得不多,日子难过。 Tā zhèng de bù duō, rìzi nánguò. → He doesn't earn much — he has a hard time of it.

⇒ 你难道还不明白吗？ Nǐ nándào hái bù míngbai ma? → How can you not understand? ⇒ 难道你就不累？ Nándào nǐ jiù bù lèi? → Aren't you tired?

censure

long-standing problem ⇒ 交通阻塞的确是北京的老大难。 Jiāotōng zǔsè díquè shì Běijīng de lǎodànán. → Congestion really is a long-standing problem in Beijing.

( 难堪 ) embarrassed

fellow sufferers pl ⇒ 大家都是难兄难弟,应该互相关照。 Dàjiā dōushì nànxiōng-nàndì, yīnggāi hùxiāng guānzhào. → Everyone's in the same boat — we should be looking after each other.

( 形容比赛 ) be locked in battle

tastes differ

attempt the impossible ⇒ 拿不到冠军也无所谓,不要勉为其难。 Ná bù dào guànjūn yě wúsuǒwèi, bùyào miǎn wéi qí nán. → It doesn't matter if you don't win first prize — don't be attempting the impossible.

⇒ 这次我看他是在劫难逃。 Zhè cì wǒ kàn tā shì zài jié nán táo. → This time I see him there will be no escape.

hard to achieve by oneself

be in a dilemma ⇒ 去也不好,不去也不好,真让我左右为难。 Qù yě bù hǎo, bù qù yě bù hǎo, zhēn ràng wǒ zuǒ yòu wéi nán. → It's a problem if I go, but also a problem if I don't — I'm in a real dilemma.

sort out problems

no one can save a difficult situation alone