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Choosing Mnemonics

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jiān = ji + an1
difficult / hard / hardship
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How to pronounce 艱

MandarinBanana teaches pronunciation with the Marilyn Method: every Pinyin syllable is one initial plus one final, the initial becomes a person, an animal or a deity, and the final becomes a place in your memory palace — with the tone deciding which part of that place the scene happens in. Remember the little story below for each half and the whole syllable comes back with them.

= ji initial

Ji is for Joan of Arc.

By Matthias • updated 5 months ago
+ an1 final

In front of the anthill.

By Matthias • updated 5 months ago

艱 character breakdown

Chinese characters are built out of smaller characters. Each component carries a mnemonic symbol - one concrete object that stands in for it - and a mnemonic story hands those objects to the person and the place that stand for the pronunciation. Learn a component once and every character that reuses it gets easier.

Component Translations
jǐn = ji + (e)n3
clay / old variant of 僅|仅[jin3] / violet (plant)
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gěn = g + (e)n3
blunt / tough / chewy
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gèn = g + (e)n4
one of the Eight Trigrams 八卦[ba1 gua4], symbolizing mountain / ☶ / ancient Chinese compass point: 45° (northeast)
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Characters with 艱 as component

艱 is not used as a component in another character.
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Words with 艱

(literary) to be in mourning after the death of a parent
shrink or flinch from no difficulty or danger / make light of difficulties and dangers
life is hard enough as it is; don't burst my bubble (Internet slang)

Sentences with 艱

艱 currently does not appear in any sentence.

Want to remember 艱 for good?

Make it your learning target and MandarinBanana works out the shortest route to it: the two sounds its syllable is built from, then the components of the character itself, one short step at a time. No account needed to start.

jiān

difficult / hard / hardship

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