难 nán / nàn — difficult (to...); problem; difficulty; difficult; not good; disaster
这座山很难爬。Zhè zuò shān hěn nán pá.This mountain is hard to climb.
Common words: 难过 (nán guò)、难受 (nán shòu)、难题 (nán tí)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "difficult"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "difficult", including 难 (nán / nàn), 难 (nán / nàn), 艰 (jiān). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "difficult" covers 3 different Chinese characters — 难 (nán / nàn), 难 (nán / nàn), 艰 (jiān) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 3 characters do not share a sound — their readings span nán, nàn, jiān — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 难 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 难 nán / nàndifficult (to...); problem; difficulty; difficult; not good; disasterUseful words: 难过, 难受
- 难 nán / nàndifficult (to...); problem; difficulty; difficult; not good; disasterUseful words: 难过, 难受
- 艰 jiāndifficult; hard; hardshipUseful words: 艰难, 艰苦
Common words for these 3 "difficult" characters
Anchor each of these 3 characters in a word you can picture — start with 难 (nán / nàn) — so "difficult" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
难过nán guòto feel sad; to feel unwell; (of life) to be difficult难受nán shòuto feel unwell; to suffer pain; to be difficult to bear难题nán tídifficult problem难过nán guòto feel sad; to feel unwell; (of life) to be difficult难受nán shòuto feel unwell; to suffer pain; to be difficult to bear难题nán tídifficult problem艰难jiān nándifficult; hard; challenging艰苦jiān kǔdifficult; hard; arduous艰巨jiān jù(of a task, mission or responsibility) extremely difficult; challenging; demanding
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 3 ways to say "difficult".
难 nán / nàn — difficult (to...); problem; difficulty; difficult; not good; disaster
这座山很难爬。Zhè zuò shān hěn nán pá.This mountain is hard to climb.
Common words: 难过 (nán guò)、难受 (nán shòu)、难题 (nán tí)
艰 jiān — difficult; hard; hardship
经过艰苦的努力，他们终于完成了任务。Jīng guò jiān kǔ de nǔ lì, tā men zhōng yú wán chéng le rèn wu.After hard efforts, they finally completed the task.
Common words: 艰难 (jiān nán)、艰苦 (jiān kǔ)、艰巨 (jiān jù)
All 3 characters
Open 难、难、艰 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.