Meaning of 难听
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- unpleasant to hear
- coarse
- vulgar
- offensive
- shameful
How to use 难听
难听 describes sounds, music or voices that are unpleasant, and also words that are rude or offensive. It often follows 很 or 太, or comes after 说得 to describe how someone speaks. Example: 他说话太难听了。(Tā shuōhuà tài nántīng le.) He speaks so rudely.
难 (nán) means hard and 听 (tīng) means to listen, so 难听 is something hard to listen to. Think of the opposite word 好听 (hǎotīng), good to listen to.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes read 难 as nàn, its fourth tone reading meaning disaster, but in 难听 it is second tone nán. Also, do not use 难听 for something hard to hear because it is quiet. For that, say 听不清楚 (tīng bu qīngchu).
难听 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
难 nán · difficult · 10 strokes
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听 tīng · to listen to · 7 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 难听.
| 听到 | tīngdào | to hear |
| 听见 | tīngjiàn | to hear |
| 好听 | hǎotīng | pleasant to hear |
| 听写 | tīngxiě | (of a pupil) to write down (in a dictation exercise); dictation; (music) to transcribe by |
| 听说 | tīngshuō | to hear (sth said); one hears (that) |
| 难过 | nánguò | to feel sad; to feel unwell |
| 难受 | nánshòu | to feel unwell; to suffer pain |
| 难看 | nánkàn | ugly; unsightly |
| 难题 | nántí | difficult problem |
| 听讲 | tīngjiǎng | to attend a lecture; to listen to a talk |
| 难道 | nándào | don't tell me ...; could it be that...? |
| 困难 | kùnnan | difficult; challenging |
Questions about 难听
What does 难听 mean?
难听 (nántīng) means "unpleasant to hear; coarse" and is used as a adjective.
How do you write 难听?
难听 is made of 2 characters: 难 (10 strokes), 听 (7 strokes). That is 17 strokes in total.
Is 难听 an HSK word?
Yes. 难听 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 难听 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 难听 is written 難聽.
Can 难听 describe a bad smell or bad food?
No. 难听 is only for things you hear. For smells use 难闻 (nánwén), and for food use 难吃 (nánchī).
Does 难听 mean shameful in everyday speech?
Yes, it can describe something that sounds bad for your reputation. For example, 说出去多难听 (shuō chūqu duō nántīng) means it would sound terrible if people found out.