困难 kùnnan difficulty
difficulty; difficult; problem
How to remember 困难: 困 sleepy + 难 difficult = difficulty.
Characters
How it is used
- Difficulty / hard / a hardship - 克服困难 (kèfú kùnnan) overcome difficulties; 生活困难 (shēnghuó kùnnan) life is hard/financial hardship.
- Neutral tone nan. Both noun and adjective. Contrast 难 (nán, hard/difficult, adjective): 困难 is heavier and can name concrete hardships as a noun.
- 遇到困难 (yùdào kùnnan) run into difficulties.
Example sentences
- 我呼吸困难。 Wǒ hūxīkùnnán.I have trouble breathing.
- 在困难的条件下他们完成了任务。 Zài kùnnan de tiáojiàn xià tāmen wánchéngle rènwu.They accomplished their mission under difficult conditions.
- 现场的营救工作很困难。 Xiànchǎng de yíngjiù gōngzuò hěn kùnnan.On-the-scene rescue work is very difficult.