强人所难 qiǎng rén suǒ nán To ask too much of someone

Explanation

强人所难指的是勉强别人做他们做不到或不愿做的事情。

To ask someone to do something they cannot or are unwilling to do is to ask too much of them.

Origin Story

从前，在一个繁华的城市里，住着一位名叫王富贵的富商。王富贵家财万贯，却为人十分吝啬。一天，王富贵听说城外有一位名医，医术高超，能治百病。于是，王富贵便带着重金前去求医。名医听说了王富贵的事情，便答应为他治病。但是，名医开出的药方却让王富贵大吃一惊，因为其中一味药是生长在深山老林里的千年灵芝，十分稀有昂贵。王富贵听到药价，顿时皱起了眉头，心想：“这药太贵了，我可舍不得花这么多钱！”于是，他便对名医说：“大夫，您开的这药太贵了，我实在买不起。您能不能换一种便宜点的药方呢？”名医听了王富贵的请求，无奈地摇了摇头说：“这药方是我精心研究出来的，每一味药都不可或缺，如果换了别的药，就无法达到治疗的效果了。王富贵，您知道我医术高明，但您也知道灵芝很贵，您现在却说买不起，这不是强人所难吗？”王富贵听到名医的话，脸上涨得通红，最后还是乖乖地付了药钱，因为他也知道，名医说的的确是实话。

cóng qián, zài yī ge fán huá de chéng shì lǐ, zhù zhe yī wèi míng jiào wáng fù guì de fù shāng. wáng fù guì jiā cái wàn guàn, què wéi rén shí fēn lìnsè. yī tiān, wáng fù guì tīng shuō chéng wài yǒu yī wèi míng yī, yī shù gāo chāo, néng zhì bǎi bìng. yú shì, wáng fù guì biàn dài zhe zhòng jīn qián qù qiú yī. míng yī tīng shuō le wáng fù guì de shì qíng, biàn dā yìng wèi tā zhì bìng. dàn shì, míng yī kāi chū de yào fāng què ràng wáng fù guì dà chī yī jīng, yīn wèi qí zhōng yī wèi yào shì shēng zhǎng zài shēn shān lǎo lín lǐ de qiān nián líng zhī, shí fēn xī yǒu áng guì. wáng fù guì tīng dào yào jià, dùn shí zhòu qǐ le méi tóu, xiǎng dào: “zhè yào tài guì le, wǒ kě shě bù de huā zhè me duō qián!” yú shì, tā biàn duì míng yī shuō: “dà fū, nín kāi de zhè yào tài guì le, wǒ shí zài mǎi bù qǐ. nín néng bù néng huàn yī zhǒng piányí diǎn de yào fāng ne?” míng yī tīng le wáng fù guì de qǐng qiú, wú nài de yáo le yáo tóu shuō: “zhè yào fāng shì wǒ jīng xīn yán jiū chū lái de, měi yī wèi yào dōu bù kě huò quē, rú guǒ huàn le bié de yào, jiù wú fǎ dá dào zhì liáo de xiào guǒ le. wáng fù guì, nín zhī dào wǒ yī shù gāo míng, dàn nín yě zhī dào líng zhī hěn guì, nín xiàn zài què shuō mǎi bù qǐ, zhè bù shì qiáng rén suǒ nán ma?” wáng fù guì tīng dào míng yī de huà, liǎn shàng zhǎng de tōng hóng, zuì hòu hái shì guāi guāi de fù le yào qián, yīn wèi tā yě zhī dào, míng yī shuō de dí què shì shí huà.

Once upon a time, in a bustling city, lived a rich merchant named Wang Fugui. Wang Fugui was a man of great wealth, but he was very stingy. One day, Wang Fugui heard that there was a famous doctor outside the city, who had excellent medical skills and could cure all diseases. So, Wang Fugui went with heavy money to seek medical treatment. The famous doctor heard of Wang Fugui's case and agreed to treat him. However, the prescription the famous doctor prescribed surprised Wang Fugui, because one of the ingredients was a thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum that grows in deep forests, very rare and expensive. When Wang Fugui heard the price of the medicine, he immediately frowned, thinking:

Usage

强人所难这个成语，常用于指责对方不顾别人的实际情况，提出过分的要求。

qiáng rén suǒ nán zhè ge chéng yǔ, cháng yòng yú zhǐ zé duì fāng bù gù bié rén de shí jì qíng kuàng, tí chū guò fèn de yào qiú.

The idiom “to ask too much of someone” is often used to criticize someone who ignores the actual situation of others and makes excessive demands.

Examples

• 我实在不想去参加这个聚会，但又不好推脱，真是强人所难啊！

  wǒ shí zài bù xiǎng qù cān jiā zhè ge jù huì, dàn yòu bù hǎo tuī tuō, zhēn shì qiáng rén suǒ nán a!

  I really don't want to go to this party, but I can't refuse, it's really asking too much!

• 你让他做这种事简直是强人所难，他根本做不到。

  nǐ ràng tā zuò zhè zhǒng shì jiǎn zhí shì qiáng rén suǒ nán, tā gēn běn zuò bù dào

  It's really asking too much to ask him to do this, he can't do it at all.

Related Idioms

• 强词夺理

• 强加于人

• 勉为其难

Opposite Idioms

• 悉听尊便

• 顺其自然