難
難 — Difficult
difficult, impossible, trouble, accident, defect
On’yomiナン (nan)
Kun’yomiかたい (katai)
Kun’yomi-がたい (gatai)
Kun’yomiむずかしい (muzukashii)
Kun’yomiむづかしい (muzukashii)
Kun’yomiむつかしい (mutsukashii)
Stroke order (18 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 難
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 難民 | なんみん nanmin | refugee; displaced person; person inconvenienced by (lack of something, etc.) |
| 困難 | こんなん konnan | difficulty; hardship; trouble |
| 避難 | ひなん hinan | taking refuge; finding shelter; evacuation |
| 非難 | ひなん hinan | criticism; blame; censure |
| 難しい | むずかしい muzukashii | difficult; hard; troublesome |
| 難色 | なんしょく nanshoku | disapproval; reluctance; unwillingness |
Study notes
難 is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 18 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 6), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #330 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
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