ChineseGrammarWiki/ancien/Chinese-Grammar-Wiki/MD/A2/61.mw

{{Grammar Box}} 

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 [[Using "hao" to mean "easy"|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:

<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"]]
*[[Expressing Difficulty with "hao (bu) rongyi"]]

== Sources and further reading ==

=== Books ===

* [[Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed)]] (p. 232) [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 →buy]

[[Category:A2 grammar points]]
{{Used for|Describing actions}}
{{Basic Grammar|难|A2|难 + Verb|<em>难</em> 做。<em>难</em> 买。|grammar point|ASG35T4H}}
{{Similar|Using "hao" to mean "easy"}}  
{{Similar|Expressing Difficulty with "hao (bu) rongyi"}}
{{POS|Verbs}}
{{Subprop|Verb phrases}}
{{Translation|Hard}}
{{Translation|Bad}}
{{Translation|Difficult}}