积重难返 in English ji1 zhong4 nan2 fan3 Meaning

Meanings

  • ingrained habits are hard to overcome (idiomatic expression); bad old practices die hard

Simplified Characters

积 重 难 返

Traditional Characters

積 重 難 返

Pinyin

ji1 zhong4 nan2 fan3

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

积ji1to amass 重zhong4to repeat 难nan2difficult (to...) 返fan3to return (to)