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難兄難弟

简难兄难弟 · 繁難兄難弟

Mandarin · pinyin nàn xiōng nàn dì

(idiom) companions in hardship; fellow sufferers

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Characters in this entry

難: Look up this written character
兄: xiōng · elder brother
弟: dì · young brother; junior; I, me
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

4–1–4–4 · nan4 xiong1 nan4 di4

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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.

難兄難弟 · find source passages ↗ · 难兄难弟 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 3 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

naan4 hing1 naan4 dai6

Cantonese word readings for 難兄難弟. 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 · Etymology 1

(idiomatic) hard to tell who is better; to be as good; equally-matched two
(ironic) of the same ilk; to be both bad

phrase · Etymology 2

(idiomatic) fellow sufferers; in the same boat

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

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