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困难 (kùn nan) — (adjective) difficult, hard; (noun) difficulty, hardship

Definition

As an adjective, 困难 describes tasks or situations that are hard — stronger than the everyday 难 and broader, since it doubles as a noun for the difficulty itself (克服困难). For grueling conditions or hardship, see 艰苦.

adjective
difficulthard
noun
difficultyhardship

Examples

  • 困难。
    Zhè ge kǎo shì hěn kùn nan.
    This exam is very difficult.
  • 困难。
    Shēng huó zhōng huì yǒu hěn duō kùn nan.
    There will be many difficulties in life.
  • 困难。
    Wǒ men yào kè fú zhè xiē kùn nan.
    We must overcome these difficulties.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

困kùnhardship
难nándifficult

'困' and '难' both convey difficulty, so the word means difficult or a hard situation.

Characters in this word

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

  • 囗囗wéisurround
  • 木木mùwood

困 is drawn as 木 (wood) enclosed by 囗 (surround). The evidence says this was probably the original form of a word meaning 'doorsill'.

Open 困 →

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.

Open 难 →
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