难 (nán) is a Chinese character meaning “difficult”. It is written from 又 (again) and 隹 (short-tailed bird), side by side, and takes 10 strokes. It has a second reading, nàn, which turns up in 灾难 — here the two readings are two separate things to learn, not one card with two answers.
Build the character for “difficult”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
又 + 隹
Left–right structure
Structure from: 现代简化字形拆分 ⿰又隹，已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔顺核验（又 2 画 + 隹 8 画 = 10 画）；隹表意见《说文解字》難：从隹，简化字以「又」代替原左半
Memory aid
A hand (又) reaching for a short-tailed bird (隹) — catching a bird with one hand is hard.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 困难kùn nándifficulty; hardship; difficult难 = nán
- 难过nán guòto feel sad; to have a hard time难 = nánHSK 3
- 难忘nán wàngunforgettable难 = nánHSK 4
- 艰难jiān nándifficult; hard; tough难 = nán
- 难堪nán kānembarrassed; awkward; hard to bear难 = nán
Go deeper
All readings
difficult
difficult; hard; hard to; bad, unpleasant
做起来费力，不容易；也表示使人感到为难或不好。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 困难kùn nándifficulty; hardship; difficult难 = nán
- 难过nán guòto feel sad; to have a hard time难 = nánHSK 3
- 难忘nán wàngunforgettable难 = nánHSK 4
- 艰难jiān nándifficult; hard; tough难 = nán
- 难堪nán kānembarrassed; awkward; hard to bear难 = nán
disaster
disaster; calamity; adversity
灾祸，困苦的遭遇。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 灾难zāi nàndisaster; catastrophe难 = nàn
- 刁难diāo nànto make things difficult for someone难 = nàn
- 殉难xùn nànto die for a just cause; to be killed in a disaster难 = nàn
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 难 mean?
难 (nán) means difficult; hard; hard to; bad, unpleasant.
How do you pronounce 难?
Its main reading is nán. It also has a second reading, nàn, which only shows up in certain words such as 灾难 — so the word tells you the reading, not the character on its own.
Why is 难 sometimes pronounced nàn?
Because it is a multi-reading character: each reading carries a different sense, and the word decides which one applies. In 灾难 it is read nàn.
What parts is 难 made of?
又 (again) and 隹 (short-tailed bird), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代简化字形拆分 ⿰又隹，已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔顺核验（又 2 画 + 隹 8 画 = 10 画）；隹表意见《说文解字》難：从隹，简化字以「又」代替原左半. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 难 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 难?
隹. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 难?
Common ones are 困难 and 难过. The reading of 难 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.