a way of doing something that makes it more difficult than it needs to be

She always does things the hard way. 她做起事来总是费力不讨好。

If you learn something the hard way, you learn from unpleasant experiences rather than by being taught.

If she won't listen, she'll have to learn/find out the hard way. 如果她不听，那只好吃些苦头吸取教训了。