khó khăn 
difficult like: schwierig → →
schwierig ☊ 
khó ☊ 
☊ die Schwierigkeit ☊ khó khăn ☊ ☊ schwierig ☊ 难的 ☊ nán de Schwierigkeit ☊ 困难 ☊ kùn nán Leider müssen wir Ihnen mitteilen, dass wir momentan Lieferschwierigkeiten haben. ☊ Chúng tôi rất tiếc phải thông báo với anh / chị rằng hiện tại chúng tôi gặp một số trục trặc với việc vận chuyển. ☊ (Lektion 90, Nr. 1353) Was war die schwierigste Entscheidung, die Sie bisher treffen mussten? ☊ Quyết định khó khăn nhất mà anh / chị từng gặp phải là gì? ☊ (Lektion 107, Nr. 1894) It can be difficult to adjust to being a parent. ☊ adjust ☊
admit to sb that...: I couldn't admit to my parents that I was finding the course difficult. ☊ admit ☊
It was a difficult time. Apart from everything else, we had financial problems. ☊ apart from ☊
I'd like to ask his opinion but I find him difficult to approach (= not easy to talk to in a friendly way). ☊ approach ☊
I had an awful job persuading him to come (= it was very difficult). ☊ awful ☊
Their recent wins have proved they're still the ones to beat (= the most difficult team to beat). ☊ beat ☊
It was a difficult birth. ☊ birth ☊
It is difficult to define the border between love and friendship. ☊ border ☊
I thought it was going to be difficult to get funding for the project, but in the end it was like taking candy from a baby. ☊ be like taking candy from a baby ☊
chew (at/on/through sth): After the operation you may find it difficult to chew and swallow. ☊ chew ☊
We are faced with a difficult choice. ☊ choice ☊
It's difficult to see anything clearly in this mirror. ☊ clearly ☊
I've had some difficulties, but they were nothing compared to yours (= they were not nearly as bad as yours). ☊ compare ☊
comparison (with sth): It is difficult to make a comparison with her previous book—they are completely different. ☊ comparison ☊
I appreciate everyone's concern and help at this difficult time. ☊ concern ☊
control sth: He was finding it difficult to control his feelings. ☊ control ☊
The last couple of years have been difficult. ☊ couple ☊
decide between A and B: It was difficult to decide between the two candidates. ☊ decide ☊
We finally reached a decision (= decided after some difficulty). ☊ decision ☊
It's a difficult decision for any doctor. ☊ decision ☊
He's in deep trouble. ☊ deep ☊
The difficulty of a problem was defined in terms of how long it took to complete. ☊ define ☊
define what, how, etc...: It is difficult to define what makes him so popular. ☊ define ☊
demonstrate sth (to sb): Let me demonstrate to you some of the difficulties we are facing. ☊ demonstrate ☊
His increasing financial difficulties forced him to take desperate measures. ☊ desperate ☊
a difficult problem/task/exam ☊ difficult ☊
It's difficult for them to get here much before seven. ☊ difficult ☊
It's really difficult to read your writing. ☊ difficult ☊
She finds it very difficult to get up early. ☊ difficult ☊
to be in a difficult position/situation ☊ difficult ☊
13 is a difficult age. ☊ difficult ☊
a difficult child/customer/boss ☊ difficult ☊
Don't pay any attention to her—she's just being difficult. ☊ difficult ☊
the difficulties of English syntax ☊ difficulty ☊
children with severe learning difficulties ☊ difficulty ☊
We've run into difficulties/difficulty with the new project. ☊ difficulty ☊
He got into difficulties while swimming and had to be rescued. ☊ difficulty ☊
The bank is in difficulty/difficulties. ☊ difficulty ☊
It was a time fraught with difficulties and frustration. ☊ difficulty ☊
I had considerable difficulty (in) persuading her to leave. ☊ difficulty ☊
I had no difficulty (in) making myself understood. ☊ difficulty ☊
We found the house without difficulty. ☊ difficulty ☊
They discussed the difficulty of studying abroad. ☊ difficulty ☊
varying levels of difficulty ☊ difficulty ☊
questions of increasing difficulty ☊ difficulty ☊
He found it difficult to hide his disappointment when she didn't arrive. ☊ disappointment ☊
Getting up this morning was quite an effort (= it was difficult). ☊ effort ☊
Graduates are finding it more and more difficult to find employment. ☊ employment ☊
We encountered a number of difficulties in the first week. ☊ encounter ☊
exaggerate sth: He tends to exaggerate the difficulties. ☊ exaggerate ☊
It was difficult to explain the problem to beginners. ☊ explain ☊
express yourself: Teenagers often have difficulty expressing themselves. ☊ express ☊
It is difficult to assess the full extent of the damage. ☊ extent ☊
I'm having extreme difficulty in not losing my temper with her. ☊ extreme ☊
She found it extremely difficult to get a job. ☊ extremely ☊
be faced with sth: She's faced with a difficult decision. ☊ face ☊
I thought the work would be difficult. In actual fact, it's very easy. ☊ in (actual) fact ☊
I think you'll find it fairly difficult (= you do not want to say that it is very difficult). ☊ fairly ☊
to be in financial difficulties ☊ financial ☊
It is difficult to make long-term forecasts for a fast-growing industry. ☊ forecast ☊
forecast how, what, etc...: It is difficult to forecast how the markets will react. ☊ forecast ☊
free from difficulty/doubt/fear ☊ free ☊
From what I heard the company's in deep trouble. ☊ from ☊
Three people were rescued from a yacht which got into difficulties. ☊ get into sth, get yourself/sb into sth ☊
I think the problem can be got over without too much difficulty. ☊ get over sth ☊
I've got to go. I can't handle it any more (= deal with a difficult situation). ☊ handle ☊
'When will the job be finished?' 'It's hard to say.' (= it is difficult to be certain) ☊ hard ☊
I was having difficulty in staying awake. ☊ have ☊
She found it hard to live up to his high ideals. ☊ ideal ☊
increasingly difficult/important/popular ☊ increasingly ☊
The company has got itself into difficulties. ☊ itself ☊
We're having difficulty keeping up our mortgage payments. ☊ keep sth up ☊
They fell in love in spite of the language barrier (= the difficulty of communicating when people speak different languages). ☊ language ☊
Life can be difficult when you move to a new town. ☊ life ☊
You soon get used to the little difficulties. ☊ little ☊
It was difficult to understand the local dialect. ☊ local ☊
He worked out the very difficult mathematics in great detail. ☊ mathematics ☊
Matters came to a head (= the situation became very difficult) with his resignation. ☊ matter ☊
He has a complete mental block (= difficulty in understanding or remembering) when it comes to physics. ☊ mental ☊
It's difficult to define the exact nature of the problem. ☊ nature ☊
It's difficult to express our needs and desires. ☊ need ☊
It was no easy matter (= it was difficult). ☊ no ☊
It's not easy being a parent (= it's difficult). ☊ not ☊
I find it difficult to be objective where he's concerned. ☊ objective ☊
She had difficulty keeping her eyes open (= because she was very tired). ☊ open ☊
Try and stay out of trouble. ☊ out ☊
It is difficult to keep up with the rapid pace of change. ☊ pace ☊
It can be difficult to be a good parent. ☊ parent ☊
We've done the difficult part of the job. ☊ part ☊
They are finding it difficult to meet the payments on their car. ☊ payment ☊
persuade sb/yourself that...: It will be difficult to persuade them that there's no other choice. ☊ persuade ☊
She's going through a difficult phase. ☊ phase ☊
This put him and his colleagues in a difficult position. ☊ position ☊
She found it difficult to get on with her, possibly because of the difference in their ages. ☊ possibly ☊
It was difficult to find a practical solution to the problem. ☊ practical ☊
Doctors found it hard to establish the precise nature of her illness. ☊ precise ☊
She managed to preserve her sense of humour under very trying circumstances. ☊ preserve ☊
Teenagers may find it difficult to resist peer pressure. ☊ pressure ☊
to begin the difficult process of reforming the education system ☊ process ☊
Coming off the drug was a long and painful (= difficult) process for him. ☊ process ☊
It was proving extremely difficult to establish the truth. ☊ prove ☊
The government doesn't have the answers to these difficult questions. ☊ question ☊
Question 3 was very difficult. ☊ question ☊
'I'm sorry to be so difficult.' 'That's quite all right.' ☊ quite ☊
It's difficult to find a house in our price range (= that we can afford). ☊ range ☊
rank sb/sth (+ adv./prep.): The tasks have been ranked in order of difficulty. ☊ rank ☊
It was a rather difficult question. ☊ rather ☊
It was rather a difficult question. ☊ rather ☊
relate sth: I found it difficult to relate the two ideas in my mind. ☊ relate ☊
She found it difficult to make friends because of her natural reserve. ☊ reserve ☊
The first question was difficult, but the rest were pretty easy. ☊ rest ☊
The new legislation faces a bumpy ride (= will meet with opposition and difficulties). ☊ ride ☊
It was difficult to establish the rights and wrongs (= the true facts) of the matter. ☊ right ☊
It was a difficult decision but we decided to risk it. ☊ risk ☊
The transition from school to work can be difficult. ☊ school ☊
It was difficult to maintain a secure foothold on the ice. ☊ secure ☊
set sth for sb/yourself: She's set a difficult task for herself. ☊ set ☊
set sb/yourself sth: She's set herself a difficult task. ☊ set ☊
severe learning difficulties ☊ severe ☊
Perhaps I sheltered my daughter too much (= protected her too much from unpleasant or difficult experiences). ☊ shelter ☊
to be in a difficult situation ☊ situation ☊
skilled in/at sth/doing sth: She is highly skilled at dealing with difficult customers. ☊ skilled ☊
There was not the slightest hint of trouble. ☊ slight ☊
He's in some kind of trouble. ☊ some ☊
children with specific learning difficulties (= in one area only) ☊ specific ☊
a list of difficult spellings ☊ spelling ☊
the power of the human spirit to overcome difficulties ☊ spirit ☊
to stay out of trouble ☊ stay out of sth ☊
It's difficult, I know. But be strong! ☊ strong ☊
She supported her husband through many difficult times. ☊ support ☊
Getting hold of this information was no easy task (= was difficult). ☊ task ☊
tell A and B apart: It's difficult to tell them apart. ☊ tell ☊
I had a terrible job (= it was very difficult) to persuade her to come. ☊ terrible ☊
All things considered (= considering all the difficulties or problems), she's done very well. ☊ thing ☊
The bill had a difficult passage through Parliament. ☊ through ☊
I'd never have got through it all (= a difficult situation) without you. ☊ through ☊
Young people today face a very difficult future at work. ☊ today ☊
turn to be/have sth: The job turned out to be harder than we thought. ☊ turn out ☊
Things just got way difficult. ☊ way ☊
He found the place without difficulty. ☊ without ☊
It is difficult to find work in the present economic climate. ☊ work ☊
It was his bad luck to be in the wrong place at the wrong time (= so that he got involved in trouble without intending to). ☊ wrong ☊