The word "艰难" is formed by combining two separate characters, 艰 (jiān) and 难 (nán), which each independently carry the core meaning of "difficulty", "hardship", or "arduousness". This is a classical Chinese compositional method where two semantically similar or related characters are paired together to create a single, unified concept that intensifies and deepens the meaning. The formation does not create a new idea from contrasting parts, but rather reinforces and enriches a single notion, in this case, a state of severe hardship or struggle, through the resonance and stacking of near-identical meanings.