Meaning of 难题
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- difficult problem
How to use 难题
难题 is a noun for a tough problem, either a hard exam question or a difficult situation in life or work. It often appears with verbs like 遇到 (yùdào, to run into) and 解决 (jiějué, to solve). Example: 我们终于解决了这个难题。(Wǒmen zhōngyú jiějué le zhège nántí.) We finally solved this difficult problem.
难 (nán) means hard and 题 (tí) means a question or topic, like on a test. Put them together and you get a hard question: a difficult problem.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes use 难题 when they just mean an ordinary question to ask someone. For that, use 问题 (wèntí). 难题 always means something hard to solve. Also keep 难 in the second tone here (nán), not the fourth tone nàn used in 困难 or 灾难.
难题 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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题 tí · topic · 15 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 难题.
| 问题 | wèntí | question; problem |
| 难过 | nánguò | to feel sad; to feel unwell |
| 难受 | nánshòu | to feel unwell; to suffer pain |
| 难看 | nánkàn | ugly; unsightly |
| 难听 | nántīng | unpleasant to hear; coarse |
| 难道 | nándào | don't tell me ...; could it be that...? |
| 困难 | kùnnan | difficult; challenging |
| 话题 | huàtí | subject (of a talk or conversation); topic |
| 标题 | biāotí | title; heading |
| 难度 | nándù | degree of difficulty |
| 题目 | tímù | subject; title; topic; exercise or exam question (CL:道[dao4]) |
| 专题 | zhuāntí | specific topic (addressed by a book, lecture, TV program etc); article, report or program |
Questions about 难题
What does 难题 mean?
难题 (nántí) means "difficult problem" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 难题?
难题 is made of 2 characters: 难 (10 strokes), 题 (15 strokes). That is 25 strokes in total.
Is 难题 an HSK word?
Yes. 难题 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 难题 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 难题 is written 難題.
What is the difference between 难题 and 问题?
问题 (wèntí) is general and can mean any question or problem, big or small. 难题 (nántí) is specifically a difficult problem, one that is hard to answer or solve.
Can 难题 be used for personal or social problems, not just test questions?
Yes. People say things like 生活中的难题 (shēnghuó zhōng de nántí, difficulties in life) or 给别人出难题 (gěi biérén chū nántí, to make things hard for someone). It works for exams, work, and everyday situations.