难分难舍

Pronunciation: nán fēn nán shě Literal meaning: Hard to part, hard to leave

Origin & Usage

Hard (难) to divide (分) and hard (难) to let go (舍). The doubled 难 sets the two verbs in parallel and covers both halves of a parting, the separating and the releasing, so no part of the departure is left easy. It is stronger and more physical than 依依不舍, and it does not require affection: business partners breaking up, a team disbanding, anything entangled long enough that the disentangling has become the difficulty.

Examples

English: "The farewell was emotional as neither wanted to say goodbye."

Chinese: 告别时他们难分难舍，都不想说再见。