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困难kùn nandifficult; challenging

HSK 4word

By Chinese Copilot · Last updated

困难 (kùn nan) means "difficult" or "challenging" as an adjective, and as a noun it means a difficulty or a difficult situation, including straitened circumstances. It appears in 很困难 (very difficult) and 有困难 (to have difficulties), often about tasks, study, or money.

What does 困难 mean?

  1. 1.

    difficult; challengingadjective

  2. 2.

    straitened circumstances; difficult situationnoun

What do the characters in 困难 mean?

  • 困hard-pressed
  • 难difficult

How do you use 困难?

困难 can be an adjective (很困难) or a noun (有困难); it sounds a little more serious than 难.

What are some examples of 困难 in a sentence?

  1. HSK 4

    写汉字很困难。

    Xiě Hànzì hěn kùnnan.

    Writing Chinese characters is very difficult.

  2. HSK 4

    有困难就告诉我。

    Yǒu kùnnan jiù gàosu wǒ.

    If you have any difficulties, tell me.

  3. HSK 4

    他家生活很困难。

    Tā jiā shēnghuó hěn kùnnan.

    His family is in a very hard situation.

How is 困难 used in a conversation?

  1. Speaker A:

    你的中文学得怎么样？

    Nǐ de Zhōngwén xué de zěnmeyàng?

    How is your Chinese study going?

  2. Speaker B:

    听和说还可以，写汉字很困难。

    Tīng hé shuō hái kěyǐ, xiě Hànzì hěn kùnnan.

    Listening and speaking are OK, but writing characters is very hard.

  3. Speaker A:

    有困难可以问我。

    Yǒu kùnnan kěyǐ wèn wǒ.

    If you have trouble, you can ask me.

  4. Speaker B:

    太好了，谢谢你！

    Tài hǎo le, xièxie nǐ!

    Great, thank you!

What should you learn next?

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English glosses on this page are adapted from CC-CEDICT, published by MDBG (snapshot 2026-10-23), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Glosses were edited for learners.