一言既出，
驷马难追 | yī yán jì chū ,
sì mǎ nán zhuī | lit. once said, a team of horses cannot unsay it (idiom); a promise must be kept |
| 一言难尽 | yī yán nán jìn | hard to explain in a few words (idiom); complicated and not easy to express succinctly |
不经一番风霜苦，
难得腊梅吐清香 | bù jīng yī fān fēng shuāng kǔ ,
nán dé là méi tǔ qīng xiāng | Without once passing through the winter's cold and wind, where would the sweet spring fragrance come from? |
| 人心难测 | rén xīn nán cè | hard to fathom a person's mind (idiom) |
| 介于两难 | jiè yú liǎng nán | to be on the horns of a dilemma (idiom) |
| 便难 | biàn nàn | retort with challenging questions; debate |
| 两难 | liǎng nán | dilemma; quandary |
| 劫数难逃 | jié shù nán táo | Destiny is inexorable, there is no fleeing it (idiom). Your doom is at hand. |
| 劫难 | jié nàn | calamity |
千军易得，
一将难求 | qiān jūn yì dé ,
yī jiàng nán qiú | easy to raise an army of one thousand, but hard to find a good general (idiom) |
| 千载难逢 | qiān zǎi nán féng | lit. hard to meet in a thousand years (idiom); extremely rare opportunity; once in a blue moon |
| 千金难买 | qiān jīn nán mǎi | can't be bought for one thousand in gold (idiom) |
| 千难万难 | qiān nán wàn nán | extremely difficult |
| 受难日 | Shòu nàn Rì | Good Friday |
| 受难纪念 | shòu nán jì niàn | memorial |
| 受难者 | shòu nàn zhě | sufferer; a victim of a calamity; a person in distress |
| 可共患难 | kě gòng huàn nàn | to go through thick and thin together (idiom) |
| 善财难舍 | shàn cái nán shě | to cherish wealth and find it hard to give up (idiom); refusing to contribute to charity; skinflint; miserly |
| 困难在于 | kùn nán zài yú | the problem is... |
| 坐立难安 | zuò lì nán ān | unable to sit or stand still (out of nervousness etc) (idiom) |
| 多灾多难 | duō zāi duō nàn | calamitous |
| 多难兴邦 | duō nàn xīng bāng | much hardships may awaken a nation (idiom); calamity that prompts renewal |
| 大难不死 | dà nàn bù sǐ | to just escape from calamity |
天下无难事，
只怕有心人 | tiān xià wú nán shì ,
zhǐ pà yǒu xīn rén | lit. nothing is difficult on this earth, if your mind is set (idiom) |
| 奢入俭难 | shē rù jiǎn nán | it is hard to become frugal after becoming accustomed to luxury (idiom) |
| 奢易俭难 | shē yì jiǎn nán | easy to become accustomed to luxury, hard to become accustomed to frugality (idiom) |
| 好梦难成 | hǎo mèng nán chéng | a beautiful dream is hard to realize (idiom) |
| 孤掌难鸣 | gū zhǎng nán míng | It's hard to clap with only one hand.; It takes two to tango; It's difficult to achieve anything without support. |
| 家家有本难念的经 | jiā jiā yǒu běn nán niàn de jīng | every family goes through its problems (idiom) |
| 寝食难安 | qǐn shí nán ān | lit. cannot rest or eat in peace (idiom); fig. extremely worried and troubled |
| 寸金难买寸光阴 | cùn jīn nán mǎi cùn guāng yīn | An ounce of gold can't buy you an interval of time (common saying); Money can't buy you time.; Time is precious. |
小洞不堵，
大洞难补 | xiǎo dòng bù dǔ ,
dà dòng nán bǔ | If you don't plug the small hole, the big hole will be hard to repair (idiom). A stitch in time saves nine. |
| 左右两难 | zuǒ yòu liǎng nán | dilemma; quandary; Scylla and Charybdis; between the devil and the deep blue sea (idiom) |
| 巧妇难为无米之炊 | qiǎo fù nán wéi wú mǐ zhī chuī | The cleverest housewife cannot cook without rice (idiom). You won't get anywhere without equipment. |
| 强人所难 | qiǎng rén suǒ nán | to force someone to do something |
| 急人之难 | jí rén zhī nàn | anxious to help others resolve difficulties (idiom) |
| 急难 | jí nàn | misfortune; crisis; grave danger; critical situation; disaster; emergency; to be zealous in helping others out of a predicament |
| 恨海难填 | hèn hǎi nán tián | sea of hatred is hard to fill (idiom); irreconcilable division |
| 患难之交 | huàn nàn zhī jiāo | a friend in times of tribulations (idiom); a friend in need is a friend indeed |
患难之交才是真正
的朋友 | huàn nàn zhī jiāo cái shì zhēn zhèng de péng you | a friend in need is a friend indeed (English proverb); cf idiom 患难之交, a friend in need |
| 患难见弃 | huàn nàn jiàn qì | to leave somebody holding the baby; to shrug responsibility (idiom) |
| 患难见真情 | huàn nàn jiàn zhēn qíng | a friend in need is a friend indeed (idiom) |
| 愧难见人 | kuì nán jiàn rén | to be ashamed to be seen in public (idiom) |
| 欲壑难填 | yù hè nán tián | bottomless pit of desire (idiom); insatiable greed; carnal cravings are never satisfied and are a main obstruction on the path to enlightenment |
| 排忧解难 | pái yōu jiě nàn | to resolve a difficult situation and leave worries behind (idiom) |
| 排难解纷 | pái nàn jiě fēn | to remove perils and solve disputes (idiom); to reconcile differences |
| 插翅难飞 | chā chì nán fēi | lit. even given wings, you couldn't fly (idiom); fig. impossible to escape |
| 救难 | jiù nán | to rescue; rescue (operation, workers) |
明枪好躲，
暗箭难防 | 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 | 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 |
