Meaning
The kanji 難 packs three related ideas into one character: difficulty, hardship, and disaster. It surfaces in daily conversation as 難しい ("difficult"), in evacuation notices as 避難, and in news reports as 難民 (refugee) — each context drawing a different shade from the same root meaning.
Etymologically, 難 is a compound ideograph. The right side features 隹 (a short-tailed bird), a component shared by many bird-related kanji. The left portion, historically linked to fire and entanglement, evokes a bird trapped and struggling — unable to break free. That image of being caught in something inescapable hardened, over centuries, into the abstract meanings of difficulty and calamity.
At 18 strokes, 難 is one of the heavier characters at N3. Japanese schools introduce it in Grade 6, near the end of elementary kanji education. Despite looking intimidating, its meaning stays consistent: wherever you see 難, something is difficult, dangerous, or hard to escape. That holds in casual speech, formal writing, and newspaper headlines.
Readings
On'yomi (音読み) — Chinese-derived readings
The main on'yomi is ナン (nan). Pair 難 with another kanji and it almost always reads ナン. This is the reading that drives compound words (熟語, jukugo) and formal written Japanese.
- 困難 (konnan) — difficulty, hardship, trouble
- 避難 (hinan) — evacuation, taking refuge
- 難民 (nanmin) — refugee
- 非難 (hinan) — criticism, blame, censure
- 遭難 (sōnan) — accident, disaster (especially being stranded or lost)
One trap: 避難 (evacuation) and 非難 (criticism) sound identical. A hiker sheltering from a storm and a politician facing public backlash share the same pronunciation. The kanji — and context — tell them apart.
Kun'yomi (訓読み) — Native Japanese readings
The kun'yomi むずかしい (muzukashii) is the everyday Japanese word for "difficult." Most learners encounter this before any compound. A second kun'yomi, かたい (katai), carries the sense of "hard to accomplish" and appears mainly as a suffix in classical or formal vocabulary.
- 難しい (muzukashii) — difficult, hard, complicated
- 難しさ (muzukashisa) — the difficulty (nominalized form)
- 有り難い (arigatai) — grateful, thankful (literally: hard to have, rare to receive)
- 得難い (egatai) — hard to obtain, rare, precious
Here is something worth pausing on: 有り難う (arigatō), the standard word for "thank you," descends from 有り難い — something so rare it is hard to come by. The kanji 難 is literally embedded in Japanese gratitude.
Common Words & Compounds
難 spreads across several thematic clusters. Learn them by group and the vocabulary sticks faster.
Difficulty & Challenge:
- 困難 (konnan) — difficulty, hardship
- 難問 (nanmon) — difficult question, hard problem
- 難関 (nankan) — tough barrier, challenging obstacle
- 難易度 (nan'ido) — difficulty level
- 難しい (muzukashii) — difficult, hard
Disaster & Emergency:
- 避難 (hinan) — evacuation, refuge
- 遭難 (sōnan) — being stranded, meeting with disaster
- 苦難 (kunan) — suffering, hardship, ordeal
- 受難 (junan) — suffering, persecution, ordeal
- 難民 (nanmin) — refugee
Criticism & Social Contexts:
- 非難 (hinan) — criticism, blame, censure
- 難色 (nanshoku) — disapproval, reluctance
- 難点 (nanten) — weak point, drawback
Gratitude (Classical Connection):
- 有り難い (arigatai) — grateful, thankful
- 得難い (egatai) — hard to obtain, precious
Example Sentences
この問題はとても難しいです。
Kono mondai wa totemo muzukashii desu.
This problem is very difficult.
日本語の漢字を覚えるのは難しい。
Nihongo no kanji wo oboeru no wa muzukashii.
Memorizing Japanese kanji is difficult.
彼は困難な状況を乗り越えた。
Kare wa konnan na jōkyō wo norikoeta.
He pushed through a difficult situation.
地震が起きたとき、みんなが避難した。
Jishin ga okita toki, minna ga hinan shita.
When the earthquake struck, everyone evacuated.
彼女は友達に非難された。
Kanojo wa tomodachi ni hinan sareta.
She was criticized by her friend.
難民の問題は世界中で深刻です。
Nanmin no mondai wa sekaijū de shinkoku desu.
The refugee crisis is serious across the globe.
この試験の難易度は非常に高い。
Kono shiken no nan'ido wa hijō ni takai.
The difficulty level of this exam is extremely high.
登山中に遭難した場合は、すぐに助けを求めてください。
Tozan chū ni sōnan shita baai wa, sugu ni tasuke wo motomete kudasai.
If you get stranded while mountain climbing, call for help immediately.
先生は難しい文法をわかりやすく説明してくれた。
Sensei wa muzukashii bunpō wo wakariyasuku setsumei shite kureta.
The teacher broke down the difficult grammar in a way that actually made sense.
人生には多くの苦難があるが、それを乗り越えることで強くなれる。
Jinsei ni wa ōku no kunan ga aru ga, sore wo norikoeru koto de tsuyoku nareru.
Life throws a lot of hardship at you, but getting through it is what makes you stronger.
Memory Tip
Picture a bird (隹) caught in a fire — struggling, desperate, unable to break free. That image captures both meanings at once: the difficulty of the situation (むずかしい) and the disaster of it (ナン). When you see those 18 strokes, recall the trapped bird.
One more hook: ありがとう (thank you) traces back to 有り難い — literally "hard to come by," meaning something so rare it deserves gratitude. 難 is hiding inside the most common expression in the Japanese language.