Home › Chinese › Glossary › rough
Chinese vocabulary · Beginner
How do you say "rough" in Chinese?
艰难
jiān nán
In Chinese, "rough" is 艰难 (jiān nán).
Listen to the pronunciation:
Free Chinese learning game. No sign-up, play in browser. See all games
Pronunciation
Say jiān nán with "jiān" held flat and high (first tone), then "nán" pushed upward like a question (second tone).
Writing and usage
艰难 is written using hanzi. It's a adjective, part of the vocabulary taught in the Noun Town language learning game.
Example sentence
树皮摸起来很粗糙。
shù pí mō qǐ lái hěn cū cāo 。
The bark of the tree feels rough.
Test your Chinese knowledge in our free browser games.
How to remember 艰难
Picture rough while you say "jiān nán" — the sound rhymes loosely with "jyen nahn", which is your cue to think of rough.
Related words
Browse all Chinese words in the glossary.
Questions about 艰难
How do you pronounce 艰难?
Say jiān nán with "jiān" held flat and high (first tone), then "nán" pushed upward like a question (second tone).
Is 艰难 formal or casual?
艰难 is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech.
How is 艰难 used in Chinese?
艰难 is used the same way as the equivalent English adjective. For example: 树皮摸起来很粗糙。 (The bark of the tree feels rough.).
Where can I practice Chinese words for free?
You can play free Chinese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, no sign-up required. Every word in the Chinese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.
"Rough" in other languages
Curated by Callan Ratcliffe
This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Chinese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation. Want to play the full game? Get Noun Town on Steam.
Noun Town on PC, Mac & VR
These browser games are just a taste. The full Noun Town is a bigger, deeper 3D world: explore a living town, talk to its characters and learn thousands of words in immersive VR, Mixed Reality, or on your computer. It's an award-winning game with 590+ reviews on Steam and 12 languages to learn.
See the full game ▶Spot an error? Email us at contact@noun.town