艰

difficult; hard; hardship

8 strokes Dict coverage rank #2,509 U+8270

Phono-semantic compound (形声字)

艮 (semantic, “tough”) + 堇 (phonetic, jǐn)

components: 又艮

arduous · Heisig RSH #2508

crotch + silver

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

Phonetic series: characters sharing the sound component 堇

Siblings built with the same phonetic component 堇 (jǐn) — compare how they read:

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
堇 sound component	jǐn	yellow loam; clay; season; few
勤	qín	industrious, diligent, attentive
谨	jǐn	prudent, cautious, attentive
廑	jǐn	hut; careful
觐	jìn	an audience with the emperor
槿	jǐn	hibiscus
鄞	yín	a county in Zhejiang province
厪	jǐn	hut; diligent; careful
瑾	jǐn	the brilliance or luster of a gem

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
举步维艰	jǔ bù wéi jiān	to make progress only with great difficulty (idiom)
人艰不拆	rén jiān bù chāi	life is hard enough as it is; don't burst my bubble (Internet slang)
不避艰险	bù bì jiān xiǎn	shrink or flinch from no difficulty or danger; make light of difficulties and dangers
艰巨性	jiān jù xìng	arduousness; formidability; difficulty
艰难险阻	jiān nán xiǎn zǔ	untold dangers and difficulties (idiom)
艰苦朴素	jiān kǔ pǔ sù	leading a plain, hardworking life (idiom)
艰苦奋斗	jiān kǔ fèn dòu	to struggle arduously
步履维艰	bù lǚ wéi jiān	to have difficulty walking (idiom); to walk with difficulty
艰难	jiān nán	difficult; arduous; hard
艰苦	jiān kǔ	difficult; hard; arduous
艰深	jiān shēn	abstruse; complicated
丁艰	dīng jiān	(literary) to be in mourning after the death of a parent
备尝艰苦	bèi cháng jiān kǔ	see 備嘗辛苦\|备尝辛苦[bei4 chang2 xin1 ku3]
艰险	jiān xiǎn	difficult and dangerous; hardships and perils
艰巨	jiān jù	variant of 艱鉅\|艰巨[jian1 ju4]
艰巨	jiān jù	(of a task, mission or responsibility) extremely difficult; challenging; demanding
艰辛	jiān xīn	hardships; arduous; difficult
艰深晦涩	jiān shēn huì sè	abstruse and unfathomable (idiom)