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磨難

简磨难 · 繁磨難

Mandarin · pinyin mó nàn

a torment
a trial
tribulation
a cross (to bear)
well-tried

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Characters in this entry

磨: mó · grind; polish; rub; wear out; a millstone
難: Look up this written character
难: nán · difficult, arduous, hard; unable

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

2–4 · mo2 nan4

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Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

noun

trial; tribulation; torment; cross to bear; hardship; suffering; hard time

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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