Meaning of 难看
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- ugly
- unsightly
How to use 难看
难看 describes people, clothes, handwriting, or anything that looks bad. It can also describe a face or expression that looks upset or unwell. Example: 这件衣服很难看。(Zhè jiàn yīfu hěn nánkàn.) This piece of clothing is ugly.
难 (nán) means hard and 看 (kàn) means to look, so 难看 is something that is hard to look at, which makes it ugly. It is the exact opposite of 好看 (hǎokàn), good to look at.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes read 难 with the fourth tone, nàn, which means disaster. In 难看 it is second tone, nán. Also, 难看 sounds blunt about a person's looks, so learners often use it too directly where 不太好看 (bú tài hǎokàn) would be more polite.
难看 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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看 kàn · to see · 9 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 难看.
| 看到 | kàndào | to see |
| 看见 | kànjiàn | to see; to catch sight of |
| 好看 | hǎokàn | good-looking; nice-looking; (of a movie, book, TV show etc) good |
| 看病 | kànbìng | to visit a doctor; to see a patient |
| 难过 | nánguò | to feel sad; to feel unwell |
| 看法 | kànfǎ | way of looking at a thing; view |
| 难受 | nánshòu | to feel unwell; to suffer pain |
| 难题 | nántí | difficult problem |
| 难听 | nántīng | unpleasant to hear; coarse |
| 看起来 | kàn qǐlái | seemingly; apparently; looks as if; appears to be; gives the impression that; seems on the |
| 难道 | nándào | don't tell me ...; could it be that...? |
| 看上去 | kàn shàngqù | it would appear; it seems (that) |
Questions about 难看
What does 难看 mean?
难看 (nánkàn) means "ugly; unsightly" and is used as a adjective.
How do you write 难看?
难看 is made of 2 characters: 难 (10 strokes), 看 (9 strokes). That is 19 strokes in total.
Is 难看 an HSK word?
Yes. 难看 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 难看 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 难看 is written 難看.
Can 难看 mean that a movie or book is bad?
Yes, in casual speech 难看 can mean a film or show is not enjoyable to watch, mirroring 好看. For example, 这个电影很难看 means this movie is bad to watch.
What does 脸色难看 mean?
脸色难看 (liǎnsè nánkàn) means someone's face looks bad, either pale and sick or angry and unhappy. Here 难看 describes an expression, not ugliness.