难当 (nán dāng) — hard to shoulder (responsibility etc.); unbearable

Definition

Literary/formal adjective: a duty or feeling is so heavy it is hard to bear (responsibility, pressure, humiliation). Most often used in writing to describe emotional or moral weight.

adjective
hard to shoulder (responsibility etc.)unbearable

Examples

  • 难当，。
    Zhè ge zé rèn shí zài nán dāng, wǒ jué dìng cí zhí.
    This responsibility is really hard to bear; I decided to resign.
  • 难当，。
    Nà zhǒng qū rǔ de gǎn jué nán dāng, tā yì yán bù fā dì lí kāi le.
    That feeling of humiliation was unbearable; he left without a word.
  • ，难当。
    Zuò wéi lǐng dǎo, tā měi tiān dōu jué de yā lì nán dāng.
    As a leader, he finds the pressure hard to bear every day.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

难nándifficult
当dāngbear

'难' means difficult and '当' means to bear, so hard to endure.

Characters in this word

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 →

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 當; 当 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
田田tiánfield
Sound part声符shēngfú
尚
尚shàng當dāng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 當 combines 田 (field) with 尚; the evidence describes fields facing each other.

Open 当 →

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