难
·nàn
Spell out: + =
difficult (to...); problem; difficulty; difficult; not good
10 strokes
Dict coverage rank #271 U+96BE
How 难 is formed
Ideographic compound (会意字)
A hand 又 trying to grasp at a bird 隹
How to remember it
difficult · Heisig RSH #644
crotch + turkey
Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.
Characters built with 难 as their sound component
These characters all use 难 (nán) as their phonetic component — compare how they read:
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 难 sound component | nán | hard, difficult, arduous; unable |
| 摊 | tān | to spread out, to open, to allot; a merchant's stand |
| 瘫 | tān | paralysis, palsy, numbness |
| 傩 | nuó | rich |
Words containing 难
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 大难不死 | dà nàn bù sǐ | to just escape from calamity |
| 面有难色 | miàn yǒu nán sè | to show signs of reluctance or embarrassment |
| 难不成 | nán bù chéng | Is it possible that ... ? |
| 大难 | dà nàn | great catastrophe |
| 国难 | guó nàn | national calamity |
| 山难 | shān nàn | mountain accident |
| 万事开头难 | wàn shì kāi tóu nán | every beginning is difficult (idiom); getting started is always the hardest part |
| 海难 | hǎi nàn | perils of the sea |
| 在家千日好,出门一时难 | zài jiā qiān rì hǎo , chū mén yī shí nán | lit. at home, one can spend a thousand days in comfort, but spending a day away from home … |
| 难行 | nán xíng | hard to pass |
| 安难 | ān nàn | (classical) (of soldiers etc) resolute in the face of adversity |
| 难得一见 | nán dé yī jiàn | rarely seen |
| 克难 | kè nán | to make do in difficult circumstances by being resourceful; (of circumstances) difficult; … |
| 高难 | gāo nán | extremely difficult; hard and dangerous; challenging |
| 发难 | fā nàn | to rise in revolt; to raise difficult questions |
| 万事起头难 | wàn shì qǐ tóu nán | the first step is the hardest (idiom) |
| 难道 | nán dào | don't tell me ...; could it be that...? |
| 自身难保 | zì shēn nán bǎo | powerless to defend oneself (idiom); helpless |
| 难上加难 | nán shàng jiā nán | extremely difficult; even more difficult |
| 大难临头 | dà nàn lín tóu | to be facing imminent calamity (idiom); disaster is looming |