Confucius says: “No pain, no gain” (Analects 7:8)

Original text and translation here: http://www.acmuller.net/con-dao/analects.html#div-2

[7-8] 子曰。不憤不啓、不悱不發。擧一隅不以三隅反、則不復也。

[7:8] The Master said: “If a student is not eager, I won’t teach him; if he is not struggling with the truth, I won’t reveal it to him. If I lift up one corner and he can’t come back with the other three, I won’t do it again.”

子曰。不憤不啓、不悱不發。擧一隅不以三隅反、則不復也。
子曰 = the master said

不 = not
憤 = fèn = “fall over; fall or lie on one’s face, prostrate; ….. excite(d); tense; strained; jumpy”
不 = not
啓 = qǐ = open, unfold, unroll, unfasten; enlighten, educate, inspire

不 = not
憤 = fěi = According to Kroll’s Dictionary (see link below): “frustrated by being at a loss for words, inarticulate, tongue tied, dumbstruck”
不 = not
發 = shoot; launch; issue; distribute; send message; publish; emit; initiate/start; stimulate

擧 = jǔ = lift up, raise up, hoist; expose, bring to light; inform against
一 = one
隅 = yú = corner, nook; remote place
不 = not
以 = to make use of
三 = three
隅 = corner
反 = fǎn = turn over, invert, turn upward

則 = then, it follows that
不 = not
復 = fù = Kroll’s Dictionary: “to go back over the same road; retrace; return; repair to”
也 = also/emphasis; often indicates a generalization at end of nominal sentence (according to Van Norden)

A Student’s Dictionary of Classical and Medieval Chinese by Paul W. Kroll
https://brill.com/view/title/61179?language=en

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