Sentence #9964337 from Tatoeba · translation adapted
How 难道 is built
Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.
难nándifficult
又again · yòu
隹short-tailed bird · zhuī
Memory aidPicture a hand 又 trying to catch a bird 隹: difficult.
道dàoroad; path 条,股)
首head · shǒuSound part
辶walking form of 辵 · chuòMeaning part
辶 hints at the meaning (walking); 首 (shǒu) hints at the sound. Compare it with dào.
Memory aidPicture walking 辶 with your head 首 leading the way: a road, a way.
How to write 难道
难 10 strokes · 道 12 strokes
Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.
Stroke order chart for 难道 (nándào). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.
难道 (nándào) means “don’t tell me …” or “could it be that…?”. It is an HSK 4 word.
Say it nándào: nán with a 2nd tone, then dào with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 难道 is written 難道. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type nandao with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 难道 from the suggestions. Typing nandao into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
难道 is an HSK 4 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.
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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.
难nán2nd tone, rising
道dào4th tone, falling
