难 meaning and stroke order
Difficult (to...); problem; difficulty
How to write 难, stroke by stroke
10 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 难
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- difficult (to...)
- problem
- difficulty
- difficult
- not good
- disaster
- distress
- to scold
How 难 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A hand 又 trying to grasp at a bird 隹.
Radical: 又 (and), shared by 21 characters on this site.
How to remember 难
On the left is a hand 又, and on the right is a bird 隹. Picture a hand trying to grab a bird. That is hard to do, so 难 (nán) means difficult.
难 is often placed before a verb to mean the action is hard or unpleasant, as in 难看 (nánkàn) ugly and 难听 (nántīng) unpleasant to hear. It also appears in feelings like 难过 (nánguò) sad. Example: 中文不难。(Zhōngwén bù nán.) Chinese is not hard.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 难过 (nánguò), which means feeling sad, with 难受 (nánshòu), which usually means physical discomfort or suffering. Also watch the right side: it is 隹, with four horizontal strokes, not 住 (zhù).
Common words with 难
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 难过 | nánguò | to feel sad; to feel unwell | HSK 2 |
| 难受 | nánshòu | to feel unwell; to suffer pain | HSK 2 |
| 难看 | nánkàn | ugly; unsightly | HSK 2 |
| 难题 | nántí | difficult problem | HSK 2 |
| 难听 | nántīng | unpleasant to hear; coarse | HSK 2 |
| 难道 | nándào | don't tell me ...; could it be that...? | HSK 3 |
| 困难 | kùnnan | difficult; challenging | HSK 3 |
| 难度 | nándù | degree of difficulty | HSK 3 |
| 难免 | nánmiǎn | hard to avoid; difficult to escape from | HSK 4 |
| 艰难 | jiānnán | difficult; arduous; hard | HSK 5 |
| 灾难 | zāinàn | disaster; catastrophe | HSK 5 |
| 难以 | nányǐ | hard to (predict, imagine etc) | HSK 5 |
| 难得 | nándé | seldom; rare | HSK 5 |
| 为难 | wéinán | to feel embarrassed or awkward; to make things difficult (for someone) | HSK 5 |
难 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 难
Learning 难 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 难
How many strokes are in 难?
难 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 难 mean?
难 (nán) means difficult (to...); problem; difficulty. A common word with it is 难过 (nánguò), meaning "to feel sad; to feel unwell".
How do you pronounce 难?
难 is pronounced nán, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 难?
The radical of 难 is 又, which carries the idea of "and". Dictionaries list 难 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 难?
The traditional form of 难 is 難. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 难 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 难 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 难 is part of the HSK 1 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 1.
When is 难 pronounced nàn instead of nán?
It is read nàn when it means disaster or distress, as in 灾难 (zāinàn) disaster and 难民 (nànmín) refugee. For difficult, it is always nán.
How do you use 难道 in a sentence?
难道 (nándào) starts a rhetorical question that shows surprise or doubt, often ending with 吗. For example, 难道你不知道吗？(Nándào nǐ bù zhīdào ma?) Don't tell me you didn't know.