DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

萬事開頭難

简万事开头难 · 繁萬事開頭難

Mandarin · pinyin wàn shì kāi tóu nán

every beginning is difficult (idiom)
getting started is always the hardest part

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Characters in this entry

萬: Look up this written character
事: shì · affair, matter, business; to serve; accident, incident
開: kāi · open; initiate, begin, start
頭: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
難: Look up this written character
万: wàn · mò · ten thousand; innumerable
开: kāi · open; initiate, begin, start
头: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
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

4–4–1–2–2 · wan4 shi4 kai1 tou2 nan2

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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.

萬事開頭難 · find source passages ↗ · 万事开头难 · find source passages ↗

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