困难 kùn nan
“difficult; challenging; straitened circumstances”
adjective, adjective / nounHSK 4 · 2021 list level 3Traditional 困難
新HSK等级2025 HSK 3.0 syllabus level
困难 appears in the November 2025 exam syllabus in the following numbered entry. Levels refer to the listed reading and use, not every meaning.
- Entry 1446: 困难 kùnnan — Level 4; official annotation 4 (形、名). PDF page 116
Separate from the HSK 2.0 and 2021 list labels above. Compare the three lists.
用法How to use 困难
困难 most commonly means "difficult" or "difficulty." As an adjective, it describes tasks or situations that are hard to do or deal with; as a noun, it means a problem or difficult situation. Common patterns are 很困难, 有困难, 遇到困难, and 做某事很困难.
例句Example sentences
- 这次考试很困难。zhè cì kǎo shì hěn kùn nán.This exam is difficult.
- 他学习汉语的时候遇到了很多困难。tā xué xí hàn yǔ de shí hou yù dào le hěn duō kùn nán.He met many difficulties when learning Chinese.
- 对老人来说，用手机买东西有时候很困难。duì lǎo rén lái shuō, yòng shǒu jī mǎi dōng xi yǒu shí hou hěn kùn nán.For older people, buying things with a phone is sometimes difficult.