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难看 (nán kàn) — ugly, unsightly (of appearance); embarrassing, awkward (of a situation)

Definition

Covers both 'ugly' (appearance) and 'embarrassing' (a situation). For appearance, 丑/丑陋 are stronger and more judgmental; for awkward situations, use 尴尬.

adjective
uglyunsightly (of appearance)embarrassingawkward (of a situation)

Examples

  • 难看。
    Zhè jiàn yī fu hěn nán kàn.
    This piece of clothing is very ugly.
  • ，难看。
    Tā chí dào zhè me jiǔ, tài nán kàn le.
    He was late for so long, it's so embarrassing.
  • 难看。
    Zhè zhī māo hěn nán kàn.
    This cat is very ugly.

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nánhard
看kànlook

难 (hard) and 看 (look) suggest hard to look at, hence ugly or awkward.

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 →

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

The shape 看 puts 手 (hand) over 目 (eye), showing a hand placed above the eyes to gaze into the distance.

Open 看 →

Grammar

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 3HSK 2.0 Level 5Appearance

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