难于上青天 nán yú shàng qīng tiān As difficult as scaling the heavens

Explanation

比喻事情非常困难，几乎不可能实现。

It means that something is very difficult, almost impossible to achieve.

Origin Story

话说唐朝时期，伟大的诗仙李白游历蜀地，目睹了蜀道崎岖险峻的景象，不禁感叹道：蜀道之难，难于上青天！他写下了著名的《蜀道难》，描绘了蜀道蜿蜒曲折、险峰峻岭、栈道凌空、飞瀑流泉的壮丽景色，更表达了蜀道难行的艰辛和人们克服困难的坚韧。李白笔下的蜀道，不仅仅是地理上的险要，更是象征着人生道路上的艰难险阻。古人云：人生之路，如同攀登高峰，而蜀道则更是这条路上最艰险的一段。这条路，不仅需要勇气和毅力，还需要智慧和策略。想要征服蜀道，就如同要征服自己内心的恐惧和惰性，从而到达人生的巅峰。千百年来，无数仁人志士前赴后继，为了心中的目标，克服种种困难，最终战胜了蜀道上的各种挑战，创造了一个又一个奇迹。而蜀道也因此成为了中国历史上最著名的道路之一，被后世传颂至今。

huà shuō táng cháo shíqí, wěidà de shīxiān lǐ bái yóulì shǔ dì, mùdǔ le shǔ dào qíqū xiǎnjùn de jǐngxiàng, bù jīn gǎntàn dào: shǔ dào zhī nán, nányú shàng qīngtiān! tā xiě xià le zhùmíng de《shǔ dào nán》, miáohuì le shǔ dào wānyán qūzhé, xiǎnfēng jùnlǐng, zhàndào língkōng, fēi pù liú quán de zhuànglì jǐngsè, gèng biǎodá le shǔ dào nánxíng de jiānxīn hé rénmen kèfú kùnnán de jiānrèn。lǐ bái bǐ xià de shǔ dào, bù jǐn jǐn shì dìlǐ shàng de xiǎnyào, gèng shì xiàngzhēngzhe rénshēng dàolù shàng de jiānnán xiǎnzǔ。gǔrén yún: rénshēng zhī lù, rútóng pāndēng gāofēng, ér shǔ dào zé gèng shì zhè tiáo lù shang zuì jiānxǎn de yī duàn。zhè tiáo lù, bù jǐn xūyào yǒngqì hé yìlì, hái xūyào zhìhuì hé cèlüè。xiǎng yào zhēngfú shǔ dào, jiù rútóng yào zhēngfú zìjǐ nèixīn de kǒngjù hé duòxìng, cóng'ér dàodá rénshēng de dīngfēng。qiānbǎi nián lái, wúshù rénrén zhìshì qiánfù hòujì, wèile xīnzhōng de mùbiāo, kèfú zhǒngzhǒng kùnnán, zuìzhōng zhànshèng le shǔ dào shàng de gè zhǒng tiǎozhàn, chuàngzào le yīgè yòu yīgè qíjì。ér shǔ dào yě yīncǐ chéngwéi le zhōngguó lìshǐ shàng zuì zhùmíng de dàolù zhī yī, bèi hòushì chuánsòng zhìjīn。

In the Tang Dynasty, the great poet Li Bai traveled to Sichuan province and witnessed the rugged and dangerous scenery of the Shu Road, and could not help but exclaim: The difficulty of the Shu Road, it is more difficult than ascending to the sky! He wrote the famous "Difficulty of the Shu Road", depicting the winding and tortuous, steep mountains and ridges, the aerial plank roads, and the flying waterfalls, and expressing the hardships of the Shu Road and the perseverance of the people in overcoming difficulties. The Shu Road in Li Bai's writing is not only a geographically dangerous place, but also a symbol of the difficulties and obstacles on the road of life. As the saying goes: The road of life is like climbing to a peak, and the Shu Road is the most dangerous section of this road. This road requires not only courage and perseverance, but also wisdom and strategy. To conquer the Shu Road is like conquering one's own inner fears and laziness, thus reaching the peak of life. For thousands of years, countless virtuous people have succeeded one another, overcoming all kinds of difficulties for their goals, and finally overcoming the challenges on the Shu Road, creating one miracle after another. The Shu Road has thus become one of the most famous roads in Chinese history, and is still sung to this day.

Usage

用于形容事情非常困难，几乎不可能完成。

yòng yú xiángróng shìqíng fēicháng kùnnán, jīhū bù kěnéng wánchéng

Used to describe something very difficult, almost impossible to complete.

Examples

• 他觉得找到工作难于上青天。

  tā juéde zhǎodào gōngzuò nányú shàng qīngtiān

  He found finding a job as difficult as scaling the heavens.

• 完成这项任务难于上青天，需要付出巨大的努力。

  wánchéng zhè xiàng rènwù nányú shàng qīngtiān, xūyào fùchū jùdà de nǔlì

  Completing this task is as difficult as climbing to the sky, requiring great effort.

Related Idioms

• 难上加难

• 寸步难行

Opposite Idioms

• 易如反掌

• 轻而易举