Definition
多灾多难 is a four-character idiom (成语) meaning 'full of disasters and hardships' — it describes a person, country, or period that has experienced many calamities or difficulties. The literal translation 'calamitous' is accurate but misses the structural repetition (多…多… pattern, which intensifies the meaning). You can use it to talk about a troubled life, a war-torn country, or a project that keeps running into problems.
v.p.
full of disasters and hardshipscalamitoustroubled
Examples
- 多灾多难，。Zhège guójiā lìshǐ shàng duō zāi duō nàn, dàn rénmín fēicháng jiānqiáng.This country has had many disasters in its history, but the people are very resilient.
- 多灾多难，。Tā de yìshēng duō zāi duō nàn, què cóngwèi fàngqì guò xīwàng.His life was full of hardships, yet he never gave up hope.
- 多灾多难，。Nàge xiàngmù duō zāi duō nàn, zuìhòu zhōngyú chénggōng le.That project encountered one disaster after another, but finally succeeded.
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.