Kilo Lingo

(kùn nán) - difficulty, hardship, difficult in Mandarin

kùnnán

Traditional: 困難

Line drawing of 困难
Coloured illustration of 困难
#1549 of 5,000 Core 5000

Translation

difficulty, hardship, difficult

Word origin

A compound of 困 (kùn, hemmed in or stranded), showing a tree enclosed within walls, and 难 (nán, hard or difficult), together meaning a hardship or difficulty.

Origin
compound
Root
困 (kùn, stranded) + 难 (nán, hard)

Stroke order

Stroke order for 困

Stroke order for 难

Examples

We have run into some difficulties.

No difficulty, however great, can frighten him.

Learning a foreign language well is not difficult.

Everyone overcame the difficulty together.

His family is in some financial difficulty.

困难 (kùn nán) means a difficulty or hardship as a noun, and difficult as an adjective. It covers practical obstacles as well as financial or personal hardship.

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Mandarin · Free printables

困难: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "困难" (difficulty, hardship, difficult): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.

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This word is part of lesson 31.