HSK 3 · Verbs

难过 nánguò “be grieved” in Chinese

Traditional 難過

What 难过 means

  1. be grieved
  2. be sad
  3. have hard time
  4. to feel sad
  5. to feel unwell
More meanings from CC-CEDICT
  • (of life) to be difficult

How to say 难过

  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale难nán2nd tone, rising
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale过guò4th tone, falling

难过 in a sentence

  1. 我知道你难过。

    Wǒ zhīdao nǐ nánguò.

    I know you’re upset.

    Sentence #5983687 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 我无法确定我是高兴还是难过。

    Wǒ wúfǎ quèdìng wǒ shì gāoxìng háishi nánguò.

    I can’t tell whether I’m happy or sad.

    Sentence #812344 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 觉得难过的时候,我会跟朋友谈心或出去散步。

    Juéde nánguò de shíhou, wǒ huì gēn péngyou tánxīn huò chūqu sànbù.

    When I’m feeling down, I talk with friends or go out for a walk.

    Sentence #813460 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 难过 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.

The character 难 (nán) with each of its parts in a different colour
难nándifficult
  • 又again · yòu
  • 隹short-tailed bird · zhuī

Memory aidPicture a hand 又 trying to catch a bird 隹: difficult.

The character 过 (guò) with each of its parts in a different colour
过guòto cross
  • 寸inch · cùn
  • 辶walking form of 辵 · chuòMeaning part

辶 hints at the meaning (walking); 咼 () hints at the sound. Compare it with guò.

Memory aidWalking 辶 past: to pass, to cross. In the full form 過, 咼 (guō) gave the sound.

How to write 难过

难 10 strokes · 过 6 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

难过 (nánguò) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 难过 (nánguò). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 难过

Words with 难

Words with 过

More words: Thinking & Talking

FAQs

难过 (nánguò) means “be grieved” or “be sad”. It is an HSK 3 word.
Say it nánguò: nán with a 2nd tone, then guò 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, 难过 is written 難過. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type nanguo with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 难过 from the suggestions. Typing nanguo into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
难过 is an HSK 3 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.