难

• Pinyin: nán
• Hanzi breakdown: 难 = simplified form of 難; 又 (hand) + 隹 (bird, phonetic)

Meaning

Difficult; hard. Describes something that is not easy to do, understand, or deal with.

One of the most common adjectives in Chinese. The opposite of 容易 (easy). Used to describe tasks, subjects, questions, or situations. Also appears in compounds like 难过 (sad), 难看 (ugly), 难吃 (bad-tasting).

Examples

1. 这道题很难。 This problem is very difficult.
2. 中文难不难？ Is Chinese difficult?
3. 今天的考试太难了。 Today's exam was too hard.

Usage Guide

Context: description, learning

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 这个问题不太难。(This question is not too difficult.)
• 学中文难吗？(Is it hard to learn Chinese?)

Don't Say

• 这很难的。(In standard Mandarin, say 这很难 without 的; adding 的 at the end sounds like southern dialect)

Origin & History

The simplified character derives from the traditional 難, which combined 隹 (short-tailed bird) and 堇 (phonetic), originally meaning a type of bird and later acquiring the meaning of difficulty.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal