HSK 6 · Emotions

为难 wéinán “to make things difficult (for)” in Chinese

Traditional 為難

What 为难 means

  1. to make things difficult (for)
  2. awkward
  3. embarrassed
  4. to feel embarrassed or awkward
  5. to make things difficult (for someone)
More meanings from CC-CEDICT
  • to find things difficult (to do or manage)

How to say 为难

  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale为wéi2nd tone, rising
  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale难nán2nd tone, rising

为难 in a sentence

  1. 这件事让我很为难。

    Zhè jiàn shì ràng wǒ hěn wéinán.

    This puts me in an awkward position.

    Sentence by WillyChina

  2. 别为难他了，他也是没办法。

    Bié wéinán tā le, tā yě shì méi bànfǎ.

    Don’t make it hard for him; he has no choice either.

    Sentence by WillyChina

How 为难 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 为 (wèi) with each of its parts in a different colour
为wéias
  • 丶dot · zhǔ
  • 力strength · lì
  • 丶dot · zhǔ
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.

How to write 为难

为 4 strokes · 难 10 strokes

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

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

Words related to 为难

Words with 为

因为yīnwèi · because为什么wèishénme · why为wèi · for认为rènwéi · believe为了wèile · in order to以为yǐwéi · to think (wrongly)成为chéngwéi · to become行为xíngwéi · action作为zuòwéi · as (in the role of)为期wéiqī · to last for (a period)

Words with 难

难nán · difficult难过nánguò · be grieved难题nántí · difficult problem难看nánkàn · ugly难听nántīng · unpleasant to hear困难kùnnan · difficult难受nánshòu · to feel unwell难道nándào · don’t tell me …难免nánmiǎn · hard to avoid难怪nánguài · (it’s) no wonder (that…)

More words: Emotions & Attitudes

体谅tǐliàng · to be understanding唾弃tuòqì · to spurn惋惜wǎnxī · to regret畏惧wèijù · to fear无动于衷wúdòngyúzhōng · unmoved无精打采wújīngdǎcǎi · listless无忧无虑wúyōuwúlǜ · carefree嫌xián · to dislike

FAQs

为难 (wéinán) means “to make things difficult (for)” or “awkward”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it wéinán: wéi with a 2nd tone, then nán with a 2nd 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, 为难 is written 為難. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type weinan with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 为难 from the suggestions. Typing weinan into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
为难 is an HSK 6 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 written by WillyChina. Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.