举步维艰 is formed by sequentially combining the characters 举 (lift), 步 (step), 维 (a classical particle that links elements), and 艰 (difficult), where 举 and 步 depict the physical action of taking a step, and 维艰 states that this action is fraught with difficulty, resulting in a literal meaning of "lifting a step is difficult" to convey arduous progress.