难堪

nán kān

HSK 2.0 Level 6 HSK 3.0 Level 7 Verb Common

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Definitions

1. hard to take
2. embarrassed

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Word relationships

Antonyms

1 item

• 自在 zì zai 自在 zì zai comfortable; at ease Feeling at ease, comfortable, opposite of embarrassed.: comfortable; at ease

Register variants

1 item

• 难为情 nán wéi qíng 难为情 nán wéi qíng embarrassed Slightly more informal way to express embarrassment.: embarrassed

Related words

1 item

• 丢脸 diū liǎn 丢脸 diū liǎn to lose face Losing face; a stronger, more shameful feeling.: to lose face

Synonyms

1 item

• 尴尬 gān gà 尴尬 gān gà awkward When feeling embarrassed or awkward in a social situation.: awkward

Usage notes

Collocations

Commonly used as 感到难堪 (feel embarrassed) or 让人难堪 (make someone embarrassed).

Common mistakes

难堪 is often misused to mean 'difficult' (难) in general, but it specifically means 'embarrassed' or 'hard to bear' in social or emotional contexts.

Child Words of 难堪

• 难 难 nán: difficult (to...)
• 难 难 nàn: disaster
• 堪 堪 kān: to endure