Expressing "difficult" with "nan" "难"
难 (nán) is an adjective that means "difficult." When something is "hard to do" (as in difficult), the word 难 (nán) can be used before the verb.
难 (nán) with General Verbs
Just as 好 (hǎo) can be used to indicate that it's easy to do something, 难 (nán) can be attached to verbs (with a few special exceptions), to indicate that something is hard to do.
Structure
The structure is:
Examples
- 这 句 话 很 难 懂。
Zhè jù huà hěn nán dǒng.
This sentence is hard to understand.
- 汉语 很 难 学。
Hànyǔ hěn nán xué.
Mandarin is hard to learn.
- 中国菜 很 难 做。
Zhōngguó cài hěn nán zuò.
Chinese food is hard to make.
- 这 个 东西 现在 很 难 买。
Zhège dōngxi xiànzài hěn nán mǎi.
This thing is really difficult to purchase now.
- 这 个 汉字 很 难 写。
Zhège Hànzì hěn nán xiě.
This character is very difficult to write.
难 (nán) with Sense Verbs
难 (nán) can also be attached to "sense verbs" (e.g. look, taste, smell, etc.) to indicate that something offers a "bad sensory experience."
Structure
The structure is:
Subj. + (很) 难 + [Sense Verb]
Examples
- 你 做 的 菜 很 难吃。
Nǐ zuò de cài hěn nánchī.
The dishes you cook taste bad.
- 这里 的 咖啡 很 难喝。
Zhè lǐ de kāfēi hěn nánhē.
The coffee here tastes bad.
- 这 首 歌 很 难听。
Zhè shǒu gē hěn nántīng.
This song is terrible (hard to listen to).
- 这 种 花 很 难闻。
Zhè zhǒng huā hěn nánwén.
This kind of flower smells bad.
- 这 件 衣服 很 难看吗？
Zhè jiàn yīfu hěn nánkàn ma?
Is this article of clothing ugly?
Warning! If you're trying to say that a particular dish is "difficult to eat," don't use 难吃 (nánchī)! The word 难吃 (nánchī) only means "bad-tasting" and not "difficult to eat."
See also
Sources and further reading
Books
- Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed) (p. 232)