| Subject | English | Russian |
| idiom. | from the school of hard knocks | на собственной шкуре (VLZ_58) |
| Makarov. | give someone a hard knock | шибко ударить (кого-либо) |
| inf. | hard knock | напасть (Franka_LV) |
| inf. | hard knock | несчастье (Franka_LV) |
| gen. | hard knock | сильный удар |
| amer., inf. | hard knocks | напасти |
| amer., inf. | hard knocks | несчастья |
| amer., inf. | hard knocks | удары судьбы |
| amer. | hard-knock life | тяжёлая жизнь (So tell me about your hard-knock life, you fucking sweet boy! Taras) |
| amer. | hard-knock life | суровая жизнь (Taras) |
| gen. | he is taken quite a few hard knocks lately | в последнее время у него прокол за проколом |
| Makarov. | he took a few hard knocks | несчастья сваливались на него одно за другим |
| gen. | he took some a few hard knocks | несчастья сваливались на него одно за другим |
| idiom. | learn from the school of hard knocks | почувствовать на своей шкуре (VLZ_58) |
| idiom. | learn from the school of hard knocks | испытать на своей шкуре (VLZ_58) |
| idiom. | school of hard knocks | опыт, сын ошибок трудных (grafleonov) |
| idiom. | school of hard knocks | суровая школа жизни (Yeldar Azanbayev) |
| slang | school of hard knocks | горький опыт (Yeldar Azanbayev) |
| Makarov., inf. | school of hard knocks | школа жизни (The School of Hard Knocks is an idiomatic phrase meaning the (sometimes painful) education one gets from life's usually negative experiences, often contrasted with formal education -– eg, The practical experiences of life, including hardships and disappointments: "He hadn't grown up in the school of hard knocks. Politically he had lived an easy life" (Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr.).  wikipedia.org) |
| Makarov. | she has suffered some hard knocks | она пережила несколько тяжёлых ударов судьбы |
| gen. | she is taken quite a few hard knocks lately | ей в последнее время не везёт |
| Makarov. | she took a few hard knocks | ей не везло |
| gen. | she took some a few hard knocks | ей не везло |
| gen. | take/ get hard knocks | набивать шишки (She'd taken one too many hard knocks, one too many disappointments. m_rakova) |
| obs. | the school of hard knocks | суровая школа жизни (Anglophile) |
| Makarov. | the school of hard knocks | тяжёлая школа жизни |
