Meaning of 难忘
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- unforgettable
How to use 难忘
难忘 describes experiences, moments, or people that stay in your memory, and it often appears before 的 to modify a noun. It can also stand as a predicate, as in 让人难忘 (ràng rén nánwàng, makes people unable to forget). Example: 那是一次难忘的旅行。(Nà shì yí cì nánwàng de lǚxíng.) That was an unforgettable trip.
难 (nán) means hard and 忘 (wàng) means to forget, so 难忘 is something hard to forget. The 忘 character has 亡 (gone) on top of 心 (heart), like a memory leaving your heart, and 难 says that will not happen easily.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes write 难忘记 when they mean unforgettable, but the set expression is just 难忘. 难以忘记 (nányǐ wàngjì) is also possible in formal writing. Also keep 难 in second tone here, not the fourth tone nàn used in 灾难 (zāinàn, disaster).
难忘 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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- 10
忘 wàng · to forget · 7 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 难忘.
| 忘记 | wàngjì | to forget |
| 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 |
| 难听 | nántīng | unpleasant to hear; coarse |
| 难道 | nándào | don't tell me ...; could it be that...? |
| 困难 | kùnnan | difficult; challenging |
| 难度 | nándù | degree of difficulty |
| 难免 | nánmiǎn | hard to avoid; difficult to escape from |
| 艰难 | jiānnán | difficult; arduous; hard |
| 灾难 | zāinàn | disaster; catastrophe |
Questions about 难忘
What does 难忘 mean?
难忘 (nánwàng) means "unforgettable" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 难忘?
难忘 is made of 2 characters: 难 (10 strokes), 忘 (7 strokes). That is 17 strokes in total.
Is 难忘 an HSK word?
Yes. 难忘 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 难忘 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 难忘 is written 難忘.
What is the difference between 难忘 and 忘不了?
难忘 is a compact, somewhat literary adjective-like word often used before 的, as in 难忘的回忆. 忘不了 (wàng bu liǎo) is more conversational and usually describes a person who cannot forget, as in 我忘不了她.
Can 难忘 describe something bad?
Yes. It simply means hard to forget, so it can describe a painful or embarrassing event too. In practice it most often carries a positive or emotional tone, such as a memorable trip or first meeting.