Correct
困难 vs 难
/ kùnnan vs nán /
Strokes
Definition
Differences Between 困难 (kùnnán) and 难 (nán)
Both 困难 (kùnnán) and 难 (nán) mean "difficult" in Chinese, but they differ in grammatical usage, formality, and nuance.
1. Grammatical Differences
| Feature | 难 (nán) | 困难 (kùnnán) |
|---|---|---|
| Part of Speech | Adjective (形) | Adjective (形) & Noun (名) |
| Usage | Predicate (e.g., "This is hard") | Predicate & Object (e.g., "face difficulties") |
| Modifiers | Can be modified by 很 (hěn), 非常 (fēicháng), 太 (tài) | Can also be modified, but often used as a noun |
| Example | 这道题很难。 (Zhè dào tí hěn nán.) This problem is hard. | 我们遇到了很多困难。 (Wǒmen yùdào le hěn duō kùnnán.) We encountered many difficulties. |
✅ Key Point:
- 难 is only an adjective (describes something as "hard").
- 困难 can be both an adjective and a noun (can mean "difficulty" as a thing).
2. Formality & Nuance
| Aspect | 难 (nán) | 困难 (kùnnán) |
|---|---|---|
| Formality | neutral (spoken & written) | slightly more formal |
| Emotional Weight | general difficulty | stronger, often implies struggle or hardship |
| Common Contexts | daily tasks, learning, simple challenges | serious obstacles, life challenges, struggles |
Examples:
- 难 (nán) → Casual difficulty
- 中文很难。 (Zhōngwén hěn nán.) Chinese is hard.
- 这个游戏太难了！ (Zhège yóuxì tài nán le!) This game is too hard!
- 困难 (kùnnán) → Serious difficulty
- 他克服了很多困难。 (Tā kèfú le hěn duō kùnnán.) He overcame many difficulties.
- 经济困难 (jīngjì kùnnán) financial difficulties
✅ Key Point:
- 难 is for general difficulty (e.g., "This math problem is hard").
- 困难 is for serious or long-term challenges (e.g., "financial difficulties").
3. Common Collocations
| 难 (nán) | 困难 (kùnnán) |
|---|---|
| 很难 (hěn nán) – very hard | 遇到困难 (yùdào kùnnán) – encounter difficulties |
| 太难了 (tài nán le) – too hard | 克服困难 (kèfú kùnnán) – overcome difficulties |
| 难学 (nán xué) – hard to learn | 经济困难 (jīngjì kùnnán) – financial hardship |
| 难吃 (nán chī) – tastes bad | 生活困难 (shēnghuó kùnnán) – life struggles |
✅ Key Point:
- 难 is often used in fixed phrases (e.g., 难吃, 难学).
- 困难 is used in serious or abstract challenges (e.g., 经济困难).
4. Negation
- Both can be negated with 不 (bù) or 没 (méi), but 困难 is less common in negative form.
- ✅ 这道题不难。 (Zhè dào tí bù nán.) This problem isn’t hard.
- ❌ 这个问题不困难。 (Unnatural; use 不难 instead.)
✅ Key Point:
- 难 is more natural in negative sentences (e.g., 不难).
- 困难 is rarely negated directly (usually phrased as "没有困难" – no difficulties).
Summary Table
| Aspect | 难 (nán) | 困难 (kùnnán) |
|---|---|---|
| Part of Speech | Adjective only | Adjective & Noun |
| Formality | neutral | more formal |
| Usage | daily challenges | serious struggles |
| Negation | 不难 (bù nán) | 没有困难 (méiyǒu kùnnán) |
| Example | "This game is hard." | "He faced many difficulties." |
Final Tip
- Use 难 for casual, everyday difficulties (e.g., "This homework is hard").
- Use 困难 for serious or abstract challenges (e.g., "life struggles").
Example
Both words mean "(an action or thing) needing great effort".
1) 困难 also means poverty-stricken. 困难 is a noun as well as an adjective while 难 is just an adjetive As an adjective, the two words are interchangeable.
2) However,困难 sounds more difficult than 难. Sometimes 困难 stresses the subjective feeling while 难 stresses narration.
3) 难 can be an adverbial by itself, while 困难, as an adverbial, often takes an adverb of degree and the particle 地.
2) However,困难 sounds more difficult than 难. Sometimes 困难 stresses the subjective feeling while 难 stresses narration.
3) 难 can be an adverbial by itself, while 困难, as an adverbial, often takes an adverb of degree and the particle 地.
1
Zhè
这
dào
道
tí
题
,
zuò
做
qǐlai
起来
hěn
很
kùnnan
困难
(
nán
难
)
。
It's difficult to solve the question.
2
Xiàyǔ
下雨
yǐhòu
以后
,
zhè
这
tiáo
条
shānlù
山路
hěn
很
nán
难
zǒu
走
。
It's difficult to walk on the mountain road after rain.
3
Zhè
这
cì
次
kǎoshì
考试
bǐjiào
比较
nán
难
tōngguò
通过
。
It's not easy to pass the examination.
4
Tā
他
shí
十
fēn
分
kùnnan
困难
dì
地
guò
过
le
了
guān
关
。
He passed it with great difficulty.
As an Attributive and a Complement
4) As an attributive, the monosyllabic 难 usually does not take the particle 的,e.g.难题 (difficult question/a hard nut to crack), 难事 (something difficult to be dealt with), 难词 (difficult words). 困难 usually takes 的, e.g.困难的局面, but some commonly-used set phrases, which combine closely, do not take 的,e.g. 困难户 (family with financial difficulty, or family difficult to deal with), 困难时期(difficult period).
5) As a complement, 困难 usually takes the paricle 得. 难 is rarely used as a complement, and if so used (as a resultative complement), 得 is unnecessary.
5) As a complement, 困难 usually takes the paricle 得. 难 is rarely used as a complement, and if so used (as a resultative complement), 得 is unnecessary.
5
Tājiā
他家
de
的
rìzi
日子
guò
过
de
的
yǒuxiē
有些
kùnnan
困难
。
His family's life is a bit hard.
6
Zhè
这
dào
道
tí
题
chūnán
出难
le
了
。
This test question is too difficult.
As the Predicate, the two words (困难 and 难) can be found interchangeable in more examples besides example ①.
7
Xuéxí
学习
hànyǔ
汉语
bìng
并
bù
不
nán
难
(
kùnnan
困难
)
。
It's not difficult to learn Chinese.
困难 sounds more serious (with the stress on subjective impression sometimes).
Owing to syllabic reasons, 难 needs to take an adverb of degree, while 困难 does not.
难 cannot be used in example ⑧. It can be seen that, because of the subjective factor of old age, 困难 and not 难 is used. However, in the objective narration (e.g.in examples ① and ⑦) the two words are interchangeable.
Though an Adjective, 难 can take a complement followed by an object.
难 cannot be used in example ⑧. It can be seen that, because of the subjective factor of old age, 困难 and not 难 is used. However, in the objective narration (e.g.in examples ① and ⑦) the two words are interchangeable.
Though an Adjective, 难 can take a complement followed by an object.
8
Zhè
这
wèi
位
lǎorén
老人
zǒulù
走路
kùnnan
困难
。
The old man walks with difficulty.
9
Jiānkǔ
艰苦
de
的
huánjìng
环境
nán
难
bù
不
dǎo
倒
wǒmen
我们
。
We are never afraid of hard conditions.
10
Zhèxiē
这些
shùxuétí
数学题
nán
难
zhù
住
le
了
wǒ
我
。
These math question confused me.
难 can be reduplicated and takes an object, and this kind of usage is very colloquial.
11
Nǐ
你
tí
提
zhèyàng
这样
de
的
wèntí
问题
shì
是
bù
不
shì
是
xiǎng
想
nán
难
nán
难
wǒ
我
?
Do you mean to baffle me with such a question?
困难 is also a Noun, meaning "sth. diffcult".
困难 as a Noun is different from the Adjective 难 used as the object (e.g.不怕难).
12
Zhème
这么
yīdiǎnr
一点儿
kùnnan
困难
,
pà
怕
shénme
什么
?
There's nothing to be worried as to such a little difficulty.
13
Zài
在
shēnghuó
生活
zhōng
中
,
tā
他
quèshí
确实
yùdào
遇到
le
了
yīxiē
一些
kùnnan
困难
。
He did encounter some difficulties in life.
Mistake
When to Use Which?
| Situation | Use 难 (nán) | Use 困难 (kùnnán) |
|---|---|---|
| General difficulty (e.g., "This test is hard") | ✅ 考试很难。 | ❌ (Too formal) |
| Serious struggles (e.g., "financial hardship") | ❌ | ✅ 经济困难。 |
| Fixed phrases (e.g., "hard to eat") | ✅ 难吃 | ❌ |
| Overcoming obstacles | ❌ | ✅ 克服困难。 |
Exercise
Practice Sentences:
- 学中文很__，但很有趣。 (难 – Learning Chinese is hard but fun.)
- 他年轻时经历了很多__。 (困难 – He faced many difficulties when he was young.)