HSK Guide

难过難過 nánguò — sad, upset

nánguò (second tone, rising)nan2guo4

Traditional: 難過

sad, upset

HSK 3· HSK 1–4 (classic)adjective
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Meanings

  1. sad, upset

    Literally "hard to get through" — 难 difficult, 过 to pass. It is grief with a cause: a piece of bad news, a friend leaving, a failure. Sadness without an object is 不高兴.

    adjective

  2. to feel unwell, to be in discomfort

    adjective

    Of the body, 难过 is the opposite of 舒服 rather than of 高兴: 我今天有点儿难过 can mean "I feel off today". Context decides which reading is meant.

Character breakdown

  • 过過
    guò (fourth tone, falling) guo (neutral tone)

    to cross, to pass by, to go through; to spend (time); to exceed; (unstressed guo) the experiential aspect marker

    6 strokes⿺辶寸Radical 辵

Example sentences

  • 她的狗生病了，她很难过。她的狗生病了，她很難過。Tā (first tone, high and level) de (neutral tone) gǒu (third tone, dipping) shēngbìng (first tone, high and level) le, (neutral tone) tā (first tone, high and level) hěn (third tone, dipping) nánguò. (second tone, rising)···

    Her dog is ill and she is very upset.

  • 别难过，明天会好的。別難過，明天會好的。Bié (second tone, rising) nánguò, (second tone, rising) míngtiān (second tone, rising) huì (fourth tone, falling) hǎo (third tone, dipping) de. (neutral tone)···

    Don’t be sad — tomorrow will be better.

Common mistakes

  • Not quite这个题很难过。

    Correct这个题很难。

    难过 describes a person, never a task. A hard question is 很难; only the person facing it can be 难过.

Similar words

Words containing 过