危难 (wēi nàn) — (noun) danger and difficulty; peril; crisis (ty…

Definition

危难 means grave danger or life-threatening crisis — stronger and more serious than 困难, which covers ordinary difficulties and hardships.

noun

danger and difficultyperilcrisis (typically of a grave, life-threatening nature)

危难，。
Zài wēi nàn shí kè, tā xuǎn zé le yǒng gǎn miàn duì.
At the moment of crisis, he chose to face it bravely.
危难，。
Péng you yù dào wēi nàn, wǒ men yīng dāng jìn lì bāng zhù.
When a friend faces danger, we should do our best to help.
危难。
Zhè fèn zé rèn zài wēi nàn zhōng xiǎn de gèng jiā zhòng yào.
This responsibility becomes even more important in times of crisis.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

难nánhardship

危 means danger and 难 means hardship; together they mean peril.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

危 is built from 厃, showing a person on a cliff or mountain, and 卩, showing a kneeling person.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 難; 难 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

隹隹zhuībird

Sound part声符shēngfú

暵

暵hàn難nán

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional 難 pairs 隹, a bird, with 暵 for sound, and meant a type of bird. It was later borrowed for other meanings; the modern 难 is a shorthand.

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