困难 (kùn nan) — difficult in Mandarin
🔊 Tap to hear it
#880 most common word · HSK 4 · CEFR B1
Pinyin colour key: tone 1 (high flat), tone 2 (rising), tone 3 (dipping), tone 4 (falling), neutral.
Tone breakdown
困难 is pronounced kùn nan. Tap any syllable’s row to hear the whole word.
In a sentence
Zhè ge wèn tí yǒu diǎn kùn nan.
This problem is a bit difficult.
Hear it, then say it right
Reading pinyin only gets you halfway. ToneDeck plays native audio for 困难 and thousands more words, then scores your pronunciation so your tones land. HSK 1 is free, no install.
Start freeFrequently asked questions
What does 困难 mean?+
困难 (kùn nan) means "difficult" in Mandarin Chinese.
How do you pronounce 困难?+
困难 is pronounced kùn nan. It uses the tone 4 (falling). Tap the character on this page to hear native audio.
How common is 困难 in Mandarin?+
困难 is the #880 most frequent word in spoken Mandarin, so it is one of the first words worth learning.
Where 困难 fits
Every HSK 4 word with tone-coloured pinyin and audio.
Words at a similar frequency
Master the tones first
What each tone sounds like and why it matters.
Why some tones change in connected speech.
Now on iPhone · Android coming soon
ToneDeck is on the App Store. The trainer works right now.
Download ToneDeck for iPhone today, and your progress syncs across every device. Prefer the browser? The full tone trainer runs at tonedeck.app right now, no install, free to start.
Browse more on the Mandarin vocabulary hub, or read how to learn Mandarin tones.