困难

kùnnán

Traditional: 困難

#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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This word is part of lesson 31.