难听

• Pinyin: nán tīng
• Hanzi breakdown: 难 (nán) — difficult; 听 (tīng) — to listen, to hear

Meaning

Unpleasant to hear; harsh-sounding; ugly (of sound or words). The auditory counterpart of 难看.

Used for sounds, music, voices, or words that are unpleasant. Can describe bad singing, harsh criticism, or offensive language. 说得很难听 means someone said something very hurtful. The opposite is 好听 (nice-sounding).

Examples

1. 这首歌太难听了。 This song sounds really awful.
2. 他说的话很难听。 What he said was very harsh.
3. 这个名字不太好听。 This name doesn't sound very nice.

Usage Guide

Context: music, speech, criticism

Tone: negative

Do Say

• 这个声音太难听了。(This sound is really unpleasant.)
• 他唱歌很难听。(His singing sounds terrible.)

Don't Say

• 不要当面对歌手说'你唱得真难听' (Don't tell a singer to their face that they sound terrible — it's very hurtful; use a softer expression like 不太好听)

Origin & History

Compound of 难 (difficult) and 听 (to listen). Literally 'difficult to listen to', meaning unpleasant to the ear.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal