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舉步維艱

简举步维艰 · 繁舉步維艱

Mandarin · pinyin jǔ bù wéi jiān

to make progress only with great difficulty (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

舉: Look up this written character
步: bù · step, pace; walk, stroll
維: Look up this written character
艱: Look up this written character
举: jǔ · raise, lift up; recommend
维: wéi · maintain, preserve, safeguard
艰: jiān · difficult, hard; distressing

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

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Mandarin tones

3–4–2–1 · ju3 bu4 wei2 jian1

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

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.

舉步維艱 · find source passages ↗ · 举步维艰 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

geoi2 bou6 wai4 gaan1

Cantonese word readings for 舉步維艱. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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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.

phrase

(idiomatic) difficult to move forward; difficult to make progress

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

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