难闻 (nán wén) — having an unpleasant smell; stinky

Definition

adjective

having an unpleasant smellstinky

难闻。
Zhè fáng jiān lǐ yǒu yì gǔ nán wén de qì wèi.
There is a stinky smell in this room.
，难闻。
Shèng cài fàng tài jiǔ le, biàn de hěn nán wén.
The leftovers have been sitting too long and have become very smelly.
，难闻。
Zhè zhǒng yú rú guǒ bù xīn xiān, huì tè bié nán wén.
This kind of fish, if not fresh, will smell especially bad.

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; unpleasant

难 adds the sense of hard or unpleasant, and 闻 refers to smelling, giving a bad smell.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 聞; 闻 is its simplified writing.

門耳聞

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

門

門mén聞wén

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

In the traditional form 聞, 門 supplies the sound and 耳 is an ear; this explanation is about 聞, not the simplified 闻.

Appears in