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难 — difficult; problem; difficulty

difficult; problem; difficulty; difficult; not good

Pinyin
nán · nàn
Strokes
10
HSK level
HSK 3
Handwriting
required

This character has more than one reading — nán, nàn — and the pronunciation depends on the word it appears in. The list below gives the syllabus reading for each word.

How to write 难: 10 strokes

Each cell adds one stroke to the previous ones, with the new stroke in red. Stroke order is not decoration: it sets the proportions of the character and makes handwriting legible to a reader. This character is on the HSK handwriting list, so the exam expects you to write it, not only recognise it.

难 — 10 strokes, in writing order from left to right.

Build a printable practice sheet with 难

Words with 难 in the HSK syllabus: 32

Every word in the official 2026 syllabus that contains this character, with the level it is introduced at. Learning a character pays off through these: each one combines with the characters you already know.

  1. 难nándifficult; problem; difficulty; difficult; not goodHSK 3
  2. 难过nánguòto feel sad; to feel unwell; to be difficultHSK 3
  3. 难看nánkànugly; unsightlyHSK 3
  4. 难题nántídifficult problemHSK 3
  5. 难听nántīngunpleasant to hear; coarse; vulgar; offensiveHSK 3
  6. 困难kùnnandifficult; challenging; straitened circumstancesHSK 4
  7. 难道nándàodon't tell me ...; could it be that...?HSK 4
  8. 难受nánshòuto feel unwell; to suffer painHSK 4
  9. 难忘nánwàngunforgettableHSK 4
  10. 难得nándéseldom; rare; hard to come byHSK 5
  11. 难度nándùdegree of difficultyHSK 5
  12. 难以nányǐhard toHSK 5
  13. 艰难jiānnándifficult; arduous; hardHSK 6
  14. 难点nándiǎndifficultyHSK 6
  15. 难免nánmiǎnhard to avoid; difficult to escape fromHSK 6
  16. 为难wéinánto feel embarrassed or awkwardHSK 6
  17. 灾难zāinàndisaster; catastropheHSK 6
  18. 避难bìnànto take refuge; to seek asylumHSK 7–9
  19. 刁难diāonànto be hard on sb; to deliberately make things difficultHSK 7–9
  20. 空难kōngnànair crash; aviation accident or incidentHSK 7–9
  21. 苦难kǔnànsufferingHSK 7–9
  22. 磨难mónàna torment; a trial; tribulation; a cross; well-triedHSK 7–9
  23. 难处nánchùtrouble; difficulty; problemHSK 7–9
  24. 难得一见nándé yí jiànrarely seenHSK 7–9
  25. 难怪nánguàino wonder; not surprisingHSK 7–9
  26. 难关nánguāndifficulty; crisisHSK 7–9
  27. 难堪nánkānhard to take; embarrassedHSK 7–9
  28. 难能可贵nánnéng-kěguìrare and precious; valuable; remarkableHSK 7–9
  29. 难为情nánwéiqíngembarrassedHSK 7–9
  30. 难以置信nányǐ-zhìxìnhard to believe; incredibleHSK 7–9
  31. 遇难yùnànto perish; to be killedHSK 7–9
  32. 在所难免zàisuǒnánmiǎnto be unavoidableHSK 7–9

Glosses come from CC-CEDICT, used under CC BY-SA 4.0, and are the dictionary’s first sense rather than a translation chosen for context.