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難堪

简难堪 · 繁難堪

Mandarin · pinyin nán kān

hard to take
embarrassed

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Characters in this entry

難: Look up this written character
堪: kān · adequately capable of, worthy of
难: nán · difficult, arduous, hard; unable

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

2–1 · nan2 kan1

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

難堪 · find source passages ↗ · 难堪 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 4 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

naan4 ham1

Cantonese word readings for 難堪. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

verb

to be hard to take; to be difficult to endure

adj

intolerable; unbearable
embarrassing
embarrassed

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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