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](Using_"hao"_to_mean_"easy" "wikilink"), 难 (nán) can be
attached to verbs (with a few special exceptions), to indicate that
something is *hard to do*.

### Structure

The structure is:

<div class="jiegou">
Subj. + (很) 难 + Verb

</div>
### Examples

<div class="liju">
-   这 句 话 很 <em>难 懂</em>。 <span class="pinyin">Zhè jù huà hěn
    <em>nán dǒng</em>.</span><span class="trans">This sentence is hard
    to understand.</span>
-   汉语 很 <em>难 学</em>。<span class="pinyin">Hànyǔ hěn <em>nán
    xué</em>.</span><span class="trans">Mandarin is hard to
    learn.</span>
-   中国菜 很 <em>难 做</em>。<span class="pinyin">Zhōngguó cài hěn
    <em>nán zuò</em>.</span><span class="trans">Chinese food is hard to
    make.</span>
-   这 个 东西 现在 很 <em>难 买</em>。<span class="pinyin">Zhège dōngxi
    xiànzài hěn <em>nán mǎi</em>. </span><span class="trans">This thing
    is really difficult to purchase now.</span>
-   这 个 汉字 很 <em> 难 写</em>。<span class="pinyin">Zhège Hànzì hěn
    <em> nán xiě</em>.</span><span class="trans">This character is very
    difficult to write.</span>

</div>
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:

<div class="jiegou">
Subj. + (很) 难 + \[Sense Verb\]

</div>
### Examples

<div class="liju">
-   你 做 的 菜 很 <em>难吃</em>。<span class="pinyin">Nǐ zuò de cài hěn
    <em>nánchī</em>.</span><span class="trans">The dishes you cook taste
    bad.</span>
-   这里 的 咖啡 很 <em>难喝</em>。<span class="pinyin">Zhè lǐ de kāfēi
    hěn <em>nánhē</em>.</span><span class="trans">The coffee here tastes
    bad.</span>
-   这 首 歌 很 <em>难听</em>。<span class="pinyin">Zhè shǒu gē hěn
    <em>nántīng</em>.</span><span class="trans">This song is terrible
    (hard to listen to).</span>
-   这 种 花 很 <em>难闻</em>。<span class="pinyin">Zhè zhǒng huā hěn
    <em>nánwén</em>.</span><span class="trans">This kind of flower
    smells bad.</span>
-   这 件 衣服 很 <em>难看</em>吗？<span class="pinyin">Zhè jiàn yīfu
    hěn <em>nánkàn</em> ma? </span><span class="trans">Is this article
    of clothing ugly? </span>

</div>
**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
--------

-   [Using "hao" to mean "easy"](Using_"hao"_to_mean_"easy" "wikilink")
-   [Expressing Difficulty with "hao (bu)
    rongyi"](Expressing_Difficulty_with_"hao_(bu)_rongyi" "wikilink")

Sources and further reading
---------------------------

### Books

-   [Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2
    (3rd ed)](Integrated_Chinese:_Level_1,_Part_2_(3rd_ed) "wikilink") (p.
    232)
    [→buy](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887276709/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0887276709)

[Category:A2 grammar points](Category:A2_grammar_points "wikilink")