刁难

• Pinyin: diāo nàn
• Hanzi breakdown: 刁 = mouth + hook radical (cunning, sly, crafty); 难 = 又 + 隹 (difficult, hard, troublesome)

Meaning

To deliberately make things difficult for someone; to obstruct, harass, or create unnecessary obstacles through cunning or malice.

Often used in bureaucratic, workplace, or interpersonal conflict contexts. Implies intentional ill-will or petty abuse of power. Common in complaints about unfair treatment by officials or colleagues.

Examples

1. 那名官员屡次以各种借口刁难前来办理手续的群众，最终被上级部门严肃处理并追究责任。 The official repeatedly used all kinds of excuses to make things difficult for people coming to handle paperwork and was ultimately dealt with seriously by higher authorities and held accountable.
2. 她在申请签证的过程中遭受了多方刁难，被迫反复补充材料，历经数月才获批准入境。 During her visa application, she ran into obstacles at every turn and was forced to submit additional materials again and again; it took months before she was approved to enter the country.
3. 同事之间本应互相协作，却有人故意刁难新来的员工，令整个团队的工作氛围十分紧张。 Coworkers should cooperate, but some people deliberately make things hard for new employees, leaving the whole team’s atmosphere very tense.

Usage Guide

Context: conflict, bureaucracy, workplace, complaint

Tone: negative

Do Say

• 上司总是借鸡毛蒜皮的小事刁难下属，让大家敢怒不敢言，工作效率也大为下降。(The superior constantly used trivial matters to make things difficult for subordinates, leaving everyone silently furious and productivity significantly reduced.)
• 他不满申请被拒绝，投诉称审批人员在整个流程中对他横加刁难，态度极为恶劣。(Displeased by the rejection, he complained that the approving official had deliberately obstructed him throughout the whole process with an extremely poor attitude.)

Don't Say

• 这道题刁难我了 — use 难住 or 考倒 instead; 刁难 implies deliberate human obstruction, not the inherent difficulty of a problem or task

Origin & History

刁 (cunning, sly; to be crafty) + 难 (difficult; to make difficult for someone)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal