难

nán

difficult (to...)

problem; difficulty; difficult; not good

hand grasping (又) + bird (隹) = difficult

Trying to grab a bird with your bare hand — it flutters, escapes, resists. That struggle of reaching and failing is the root feeling of difficulty.

又+隹→难

又The right handSemantic

隹A short-tailed birdSemantic

两难

liǎng nán

dilemma

进退两难

jìn tuì liǎng nán

no room to advance or to retreat (idiom); without any way out of a dilemma

进退为难

jìn tuì wéi nán

no room to advance or to retreat (idiom); without any way out of a dilemma

遇难

yù nàn

to perish

遇难者

yù nàn zhě

victim

遇难船

yù nán chuán

shipwreck

遭难

zāo nàn

to run into misfortune

避难

bì nàn

to take refuge; to seek asylum

避难所

bì nàn suǒ

a refuge; a haven; a sanctuary

长夜难明

cháng yè nán míng

lit. many nights under a harsh moon

阎王好见，小鬼难当

yán wáng hǎo jiàn , xiǎo guǐ nán dāng

lit. standing in front of the King of Hell is easy, but smaller devils are difficult to deal with (idiom)

关关难过，关关过

guān guān nán guò , guān guān guò

to meet with great difficulties but pull through