How to say “sad” in Chinese
sad, upset
“Sad” in Chinese is 难过, nán guò: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
难过 is read nán guò: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
难看 is “hard to look at”, that is, “ugly”.
On the left, 辶 “walk”. As a particle of experience it is read with the neutral tone: guo.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “难过”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 难过. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 你为什么这么难过？nǐwèishénmezhèmenánguòWhy are you so sad?
- 我心里很难过。wǒxīnlihěnnánguòI feel really sad inside.
- 父母不理解我，我很难过。fùmǔbùlǐjiěwǒ,wǒhěnnánguòMy parents don't understand me, I feel really sad.
- 这件事使我很难过。zhèjiànshìshǐwǒhěnnánguòThis really upset me.
- 表面上他很开心，其实心里很难过。biǎomiànshangtāhěnkāixīn,qíshíxīnlihěnnánguòOn the outside he looks happy, but actually he's very sad.
- 他们都笑我的发音，我很难过。tāmendōuxiàowǒdefāyīn,wǒhěnnánguòThey all laugh at my pronunciation; it makes me sad.
More words from the lesson “Joy and sadness”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “sad” in Chinese?
“Sad” in Chinese is 难过, pinyin nánguò.
What does 难过 mean?
难过 (nánguò) means “sad, upset”.
How do you write 难过?
难过 is 2 characters: 难 (nán) — difficult; 过 (guò) — pass. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 难过?
难过 is read nánguò. Tones: nán — second tone, guò — fourth tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“sad” in the lesson “Joy and sadness”
This word is from the topic “People and personality” of HSK 3. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
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