难找 (nán zhǎo) — difficult to find, hard to locate

Definition

Adjectival phrase meaning 'hard to find / hard to locate' — the difficulty is in the searching, not the thing itself. Often used with 很 or 越来越.

adjective

difficult to findhard to locate

难找，。
Zhè ge dì fāng hěn nán zhǎo, nǐ yào yòng dǎo háng.
This place is hard to find; you need to use navigation.
难找。
Xiàn zài hǎo gōng zuò yuè lái yuè nán zhǎo le.
Good jobs are getting harder and harder to find now.
难找。
Zhè zhǒng lǎo shū zài shū diàn lǐ hěn nán zhǎo.
This kind of old book is very hard to find in bookstores.

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

难 (difficult) and 找 (find) combine to mean hard to locate.

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.

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

扌戈找

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

戈

戈gē找zhǎo

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

找 pairs 扌 (hand) with 戈 as a sound part. The idea that it shows a hand looking for a halberd is only a memory trick.