<p>&quot;难得到&quot; is short for &quot;难以得到&quot; (hard to get). It is not a standard phrase</p>
<blockquote>
<p>(連)*你的健康都难得到保证，(就)*更别说幸福了</p>
</blockquote>
<p>There is a common grammar structure here:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>[連 (X) 都 (+ statement) , 更别说 (Y)了]</p>
<p>[even (X) (+ statement) , let alone/ not to mention (Y)]</p>
<p>[even (your health) (cannot be guaranteed/ ensured), let alone/ not to mention (your happiness)]</p>
<p><em>If your health cannot be guaranteed/ ensured , then it is even less likely that your happiness can be guaranteed</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p><em>連 is omitted in your sentence</em></p>
<p><em>就 can be omitted in your sentence</em></p>
<p>More example of [連 (X) 都 (+ statement) , 更别说 (Y)了] structure:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>連(我)都打不過他, 更别说(你)了</p>
<p>even (I) can't defeat him, let alone (you)</p>
<p><em>If I can't defeat him, it is even less likely that you can defeat him</em></p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-11-11T02:52:42.210Z
2019-11-11T03:35:00.747Z
2020-06-17T09:50:11.587Z
Tang Ho
<p>If you give more context, you will get a better translation.</p>

<p>当你生病了，<br>
When you are sick,<br>
如果由于缺钱而不能及时去看医生，<br>
and you can't go to see a doctor, because you don't have any money,<br>
你的健康都难得到保证，<br>
even your health can't be guaranteed,<br>
就更别说幸福了。<br>
never mind talking about happiness.</p>

<p>健康都难得到保证
health even difficult get guarantee</p>

<p>Is 难得到 a set phrase? No.</p>

<p>保证 a guarantee</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-11-11T09:15:32.497Z
2019-11-11T09:15:32.497Z
Pedroski
<p>Here, "就更别说" means "let alone".</p>

<p>"难得到" is not a set phrase. It seems to me that "得到保证" is.</p>

<p>"保证" is still a noun in this sentence (I confirm this with my mom, a high school Chinese teacher in China).</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-11-11T02:36:01.690Z
2019-11-11T03:06:20.683Z
2019-11-11T03:06:20.683Z
魏小淇
<p><strong>如果 由于 缺钱 而 不能 及时 去 看医生[看病]</strong></p>

<ul>
<li>If you cannot visit a doctor due to lacking of money</li>
</ul>

<p><strong>你的 健康 都 难[以] 得到 保证</strong></p>

<ul>
<li>Your healthy is difficult to be guaranteed. (You cannot guarantee your healthy)</li>
<li>难以: difficult to</li>
<li>得到保证：be guaranteed</li>
</ul>

<p><strong>更别说 幸福 了</strong></p>

<ul>
<li>let along happinese</li>
<li>更别说：let alone ..., literally "don't even mention"</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-11-11T02:39:52.883Z
2019-11-11T02:52:03.573Z
2019-11-11T02:52:03.573Z
tsh
<p>From 标准教程HSK4上(p.124; nearly finished this book!):</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>当你生病了，如果由于缺钱而不能及时去看医生，<strong>你的健康都难得到保证，就更别说幸福了</strong>。</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I translate this to:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>When you're sick, if because of lack of money [you] cannot promptly visit the doctor, <strong>your health is not easily ensured, it's best not to say happiness</strong>.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I'm uncomfortable with my understanding of the last part of this sentence, which seems quite different to English.</p>

<p><strong>Question</strong>: How does 你的健康都难得到保证，就更别说幸福了 work?</p>

<p>To highlight my particular issues:</p>

<ul>
<li>Is <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E9%9A%BE%E5%BE%97%E5%88%B0" rel="nofollow noreferrer">难得到</a> a set phrase?</li>
<li>It seems like <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E4%BF%9D%E8%AF%81" rel="nofollow noreferrer">保证</a> ("guarantee") is being used as an intransitive verb, meaning something different ("ensure") than what I'm accustomed to (e.g. the guarantee of a shopkeeper).  I just want to check that I'm reading this correctly.</li>
<li>I don't know what <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E6%9B%B4" rel="nofollow noreferrer">更</a> is doing in this sentence.</li>
<li><a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E5%88%AB%E8%AF%B4" rel="nofollow noreferrer">别说</a> does not seem to mean "don't speak" here.  Is it metaphorical?</li>
</ul>

<p>I think the intended meaning is something like</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>If you fall sick and don't have money to see a doctor, you can't ensure your health, so you cannot claim to have <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E5%B9%B8%E7%A6%8F" rel="nofollow noreferrer">幸福</a>.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Where I'll just leave 幸福 untranslated as this nebulous notion of "happiness" and "good fortune".</p>

<translation><meaning-in-context>
How does 你的健康都难得到保证，就更别说幸福了 work?
# How does 你的健康都难得到保证，就更别说幸福了 work?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-11-11)

From 标准教程HSK4上(p.124; nearly finished this book!):

> 当你生病了，如果由于缺钱而不能及时去看医生，**你的健康都难得到保证，就更别说幸福了**。

I translate this to:

> When you're sick, if because of lack of money [you] cannot promptly visit the doctor, **your health is not easily ensured, it's best not to say happiness**.

I'm uncomfortable with my understanding of the last part of this sentence, which seems quite different to English.

**Question**: How does 你的健康都难得到保证，就更别说幸福了 work?

To highlight my particular issues:

* Is [难得到](http://youdao.com/w/%E9%9A%BE%E5%BE%97%E5%88%B0) a set phrase?
* It seems like [保证](http://youdao.com/w/%E4%BF%9D%E8%AF%81) ("guarantee") is being used as an intransitive verb, meaning something different ("ensure") than what I'm accustomed to (e.g. the guarantee of a shopkeeper). I just want to check that I'm reading this correctly.
* I don't know what [更](http://youdao.com/w/%E6%9B%B4) is doing in this sentence.
* [别说](http://youdao.com/w/%E5%88%AB%E8%AF%B4) does not seem to mean "don't speak" here. Is it metaphorical?

I think the intended meaning is something like

> If you fall sick and don't have money to see a doctor, you can't ensure your health, so you cannot claim to have [幸福](http://youdao.com/w/%E5%B9%B8%E7%A6%8F).

Where I'll just leave 幸福 untranslated as this nebulous notion of "happiness" and "good fortune".

**Tags:** translation, meaning-in-context


---

## 4 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2019-11-11. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

"难得到" is short for "难以得到" (hard to get). It is not a standard phrase

> (連)\*你的健康都难得到保证，(就)\*更别说幸福了

There is a common grammar structure here:

> [連 (X) 都 (+ statement) , 更别说 (Y)了]
>
> [even (X) (+ statement) , let alone/ not to mention (Y)]
>
> [even (your health) (cannot be guaranteed/ ensured), let alone/ not to mention (your happiness)]
>
> *If your health cannot be guaranteed/ ensured , then it is even less likely that your happiness can be guaranteed*

*連 is omitted in your sentence*

*就 can be omitted in your sentence*

More example of [連 (X) 都 (+ statement) , 更别说 (Y)了] structure:

> 連(我)都打不過他, 更别说(你)了
>
> even (I) can't defeat him, let alone (you)
>
> *If I can't defeat him, it is even less likely that you can defeat him*


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### Answer by username_2 on 2019-11-11. Score: 1

If you give more context, you will get a better translation.

当你生病了，  
When you are sick,  
如果由于缺钱而不能及时去看医生，  
and you can't go to see a doctor, because you don't have any money,  
你的健康都难得到保证，  
even your health can't be guaranteed,  
就更别说幸福了。  
never mind talking about happiness.

健康都难得到保证
health even difficult get guarantee

Is 难得到 a set phrase? No.

保证 a guarantee


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### Answer by username_3 on 2019-11-11. Score: 1

Here, "就更别说" means "let alone".

"难得到" is not a set phrase. It seems to me that "得到保证" is.

"保证" is still a noun in this sentence (I confirm this with my mom, a high school Chinese teacher in China).


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### Answer by username_4 on 2019-11-11. Score: 1

**如果 由于 缺钱 而 不能 及时 去 看医生[看病]**

* If you cannot visit a doctor due to lacking of money

**你的 健康 都 难[以] 得到 保证**

* Your healthy is difficult to be guaranteed. (You cannot guarantee your healthy)
* 难以: difficult to
* 得到保证：be guaranteed

**更别说 幸福 了**

* let along happinese
* 更别说：let alone ..., literally "don't even mention"


---

