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難
🇹🇼🇭🇰🇯🇵🇰🇷
难
🇨🇳

difficult

HSK 10 N2
Abstract →Qualities
nán, nàn
ナン
かた.い、-がた.い、むずか.しい、むづか.しい、むつか.しい、-にく.い
난, 나
Phonosemantic compound. 隹 represents the meaning and 𦰩 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "type of bird". The current meaning is a phonetic loan.
Components
Traditional (難)
𦰩 to sigh+ 隹 Short-Tailed Bird =
難 difficult
𦰩 Phonetic component
jiān to sigh
to sigh [ancient variant of 嘆]
View phonetic series →
隹 Meaning component
zhuī Short-Tailed Bird
bird
Simplified (难)
又 again+ 隹 Short-Tailed Bird =
难 difficult
又 Simplified component
yòu again
and, also, again, in addition
Shorthand for the 堇 component in the traditional character 難.
隹 Meaning component
zhuī Short-Tailed Bird
bird
Notes
Similar Characters
嘆 sigh (trad/jp)漢 Han (trad/jp)奪 take by force (trad/jp)奮 exert oneself (trad/jp)寉 crane羅 silk gauze (trad/jp)進 advance (trad/jp)隺 crane隼 falcon隽 outstanding (simp)集 gather雈 owl雋 talented (trad)雔 match雙 pair (trad)離 leave (trad/jp)准 allow (simp)倠 唯 solely堆 pile
Historical Evolution
Bronze Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)
Bronze
Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)
Bronze Spring and Autumn (771-476 BC)
Bronze
Spring and Autumn (771-476 BC)
Bronze Late Warring States (~250 BC)
Bronze
Late Warring States (~250 BC)
Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)
Seal
Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)
Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)
Seal
Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)
Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)
Seal
Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)
Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)
Seal
Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Seal
Shuowen (~100 AD)
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Seal
Shuowen (~100 AD)
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Seal
Shuowen (~100 AD)
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Seal
Shuowen (~100 AD)
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Seal
Shuowen (~100 AD)
Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)
Clerical
Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)
難
Regular
Modern
Chinese
难 / 難 [nán]
difficult (to...); problem; difficulty; difficult; not good
难 / 難 [nàn]
disaster; distress; to scold
Japanese
難 なん 同音

noun

  1. difficulty; trouble; hardship; shortage
  2. accident; disaster; danger
  3. fault; defect; flaw
  4. criticism; charge; blame
Korean
난 [難]
Affix
-nan; A suffix used to mean difficulty or a shortage.
Example Sentences
CHINESE WORDS (200)
难道 [nán​dào] #569
don't tell me ...
困难 [kùn​nan] #1,338
difficult
难以 [nán​yǐ] #2,022
hard to (predict, imagine etc)
难过 [nán​guò] #1,677
to feel sad
艰难 [jiān​nán] #2,157
difficult
难以置信 [nán​yǐ​zhì​xìn] #1,573
hard to believe
难受 [nán​shòu] #3,679
to feel unwell
难度 [nán​dù] #5,192
trouble
难得 [nán​dé] #6,692
seldom
灾难 [zāi​nàn] #2,798
disaster
190 more items
JAPANESE WORDS (200)
⭐ 難しい [むずかしい] #680
difficult
⭐ 困難 [こんなん] #2,691
difficulty
⭐ 非難 [ひなん] #2,976
criticism
⭐ 避難 [ひなん] #3,936
taking refuge
⭐ 無難 [ぶなん] #6,950
safe (e.g. choice)
⭐ 災難 [さいなん] #7,926
calamity
難易度 [なんいど] #8,841
degree of difficulty
難儀 [なんぎ] #10,648
troublesome (person, task, etc.)
信じがたい [しんじがたい] #10,683
unbelievable
言いがたい [いいがたい] #10,803
hard to say
190 more items
KOREAN WORDS (33)
만난 #1,170
all difficulties; all obstacles
비난 #14,414
blame; condemnation; criticism
고난 #44,208
hardship; trouble; suffering; difficulty; adversity; trial; ordeal
구인난
labor shortage
난공불락
being impregnable; being unassailable
난관
difficult situation; deadlock
난문제
brain-teaser; difficult problem; hard nut to crack; thorny problem
난민
refugee
난이도
level of difficulty
난적
difficult enemy
23 more items