困难 (kùnnán)

困难 describes something that is difficult or refers to a difficulty or hardship that one faces.

Meanings

[adjective] difficult, hard, or challenging
[noun] a difficulty, problem, or hardship

Example Sentences

学习一门新语言是困难的，但很有价值。 Xuéxí yī mén xīn yǔyán shì kùnnán de, dàn hěn yǒu jiàzhí. Learning a new language is difficult but very worthwhile.

面对困难，我们不能轻易放弃。 Miàn duì kùnnán, wǒmen bù néng qīngyì fàngqì. When facing difficulties, we should not easily give up.

他克服了很多困难，终于成功了。 Tā kèfú le hěn duō kùnnán, zhōngyú chénggōng le. He overcame many difficulties and finally succeeded.

经济困难使很多家庭感到压力。 Jīngjì kùnnán shǐ hěn duō jiātíng gǎndào yālì. Economic hardship puts pressure on many families.

Collocations

Collocation	Meaning
克服困难	overcome difficulties
面对困难	face difficulties
经济困难	financial hardship
遇到困难	encounter difficulties

Usage Notes

困难 functions as both an adjective and a noun in Chinese. As an adjective, it describes tasks or situations: 这很困难 (this is very difficult). As a noun, it refers to a specific problem or hardship: 遇到困难 (to encounter a difficulty). The related word 困 alone means "to be stuck or trapped," adding to the sense of struggle the word conveys.

Memory Hook

困 means "trapped" (like a tree trapped inside a box) and 难 means "hard or difficult," so 困难 is being trapped in something hard, a genuine difficulty.