These words all describe sth that is not easy and requires a lot of effort or skill to do. 以上各词均形容事情困难、费力、难做。

• difficult not easy; needing effort or skill to do or understand 指困难的、费力的、难做的、难懂的：◆The exam questions were quite difficult. 考题相当难。◆It is difficult for young people to find jobs around here. 年轻人要在附近找到工作很难。
• hard not easy; needing effort or skill to do or understand 指困难的、费力的、难做的、难懂的：◆I always found languages quite hard at school. 在学校读书时我总觉得语言很难学。◆It was one of the hardest things I ever did. 这是我做过的最难的事情之一。

difficult or hard? 用 difficult 还是 hard？

Hard is slightly less formal than difficult. It is used particularly in the structure hard to believe/say/find/take, etc., although difficult can also be used in any of these examples. * hard 较 difficult 稍非正式，主要用于 hard to believe/say/find/take 等结构中，不过 difficult 亦可用于上述结构。

• challenging (approving) difficult in an interesting way that tests your ability 指困难而有意思的、有挑战性的、考验能力的
• demanding difficult to do or deal with and needing a lot of effort, skill or patience 指要求高的、需要高技能或耐性的、费力的：◆It is a technically demanding piece of music to play. 演奏这一段音乐需要有很高的技艺。
• taxing (often used in negative statements) difficult to do and needing a lot of mental or physical effort （常用于否定句）指繁重的、费力的、伤脑筋的：◆This shouldn't be too taxing for you. 这对你来说不至于太费劲。

Patterns

• difficult/hard/challenging/demanding/taxing for sb
• difficult/hard to do sth
• physically difficult/hard/challenging/demanding/taxing
• technically difficult/challenging/demanding
• mentally/intellectually challenging/demanding/taxing