>>>"...find it difficult, if not hard..." Isn't the use of that tautologically and verbosely utilising superfluous verbage more than you need?
>>
>>Not the same: one is not easy, the other is not soft.
>
>Yes, I know the several meanings of "hard". The French also say "dur" for difficult. The meaning you should pick on is "hard water" :-)

Is it? Hardly so.