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难道 (nán dào) — used in rhetorical questions to express surprise or disbelief: 'could it be that…', 'don't tell me…'

Definition

难道 leads a rhetorical question when the speaker is surprised or doubts the answer is yes (often implying 'surely not'). Versus 莫非, it carries a stronger tone of disbelief; 莫非 sounds more like a polite speculation.

adverb
used in rhetorical questions to express surprise or disbelief: 'could it be that…', 'don't tell me…'

Examples

  • 难道？
    nán dào Nǐ zhēn de xiāng xìn tā ma?
    Don't tell me you actually believe him?
  • 难道？
    nán dào Zhè cì kǎo shì hěn nán ma?
    Could it be that this exam is really hard?
  • 难道？
    nán dào Zhè jiàn shì jiù zhè yàng jié shù le?
    You mean this matter just ended like that?

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
道dàosay

难 (hard) and 道 (say) yield 'hard to say', used to express disbelief.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
行行xíngstreet
止止zhǐfoot
Sound part声符shēngfú
𩠐
首shǒu道dào
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

Early 道 showed a street 行, a foot 止, and a part written 首 or 𩠐; the right part of 行 later disappeared.

Open 道 →

Grammar

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4HSK 2.0 Level 41000 Most Frequent Chinese Words2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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