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ChineseGrammarWiki


			
				
					
						
						
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<p>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.</p>
<h2 id="难-nán-with-general-verbs">难 (nán) with General Verbs</h2>
<p>Just as 好 (hǎo) can be used to indicate that it's <a href=
"Using_&quot;hao&quot;_to_mean_&quot;easy&quot;" title=
"wikilink">easy to do something</a>, 难 (nán) can be attached to
verbs (with a few special exceptions), to indicate that something
is <em>hard to do</em>.</p>
<h3 id="structure">Structure</h3>
<p>The structure is:</p>
<div class="jiegou">
<p>Subj. + (很) 难 + Verb</p>
</div>
<h3 id="examples">Examples</h3>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li>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></li>
<li>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></li>
<li>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></li>
<li>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></li>
<li>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></li>
</ul>
</div>
<h2 id="难-nán-with-sense-verbs">难 (nán) with Sense Verbs</h2>
<p>难 (nán) can also be attached to "sense verbs" (e.g. look, taste,
smell, etc.) to indicate that something offers a "bad sensory
experience."</p>
<h3 id="structure-1">Structure</h3>
<p>The structure is:</p>
<div class="jiegou">
<p>Subj. + (很) 难 + [Sense Verb]</p>
</div>
<h3 id="examples-1">Examples</h3>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li>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></li>
<li>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></li>
<li>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></li>
<li>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></li>
<li>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></li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><strong>Warning!</strong> 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) <em>only</em> means "bad-tasting" and <em>not</em>
"difficult to eat."</p>
<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="Using_&quot;hao&quot;_to_mean_&quot;easy&quot;" title=
"wikilink">Using "hao" to mean "easy"</a></li>
<li><a href=
"Expressing_Difficulty_with_&quot;hao_(bu)_rongyi&quot;" title=
"wikilink">Expressing Difficulty with "hao (bu) rongyi"</a></li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources-and-further-reading">Sources and further
reading</h2>
<h3 id="books">Books</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="Integrated_Chinese:_Level_1,_Part_2_(3rd_ed)" title=
"wikilink">Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed)</a> (p.
232) <a href=
"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887276709/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=allset-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399369&amp;creativeASIN=0887276709">
→buy</a></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="Category:A2_grammar_points" title=
"wikilink">Category:A2 grammar points</a></p>
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