困こん難なん

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Common wordJLPTN3Freq.FrequencyTop 5,000

Meanings

Refers to situations, tasks, or conditions that are hard to deal with or overcome. Used both as a noun and as a na-adjective.

この問もん題だいを解かい決けつするのは非ひ常じょうに困こん難なんだ。
Solving this problem is extremely difficult.
彼かれは多おおくの困こん難なんを乗のり越こえて成せい功こうした。
He overcame many hardships and succeeded.

noun, na-adjective

infeasibility; inability (to carry out)

euph

Euphemistic use, often implying that something is practically impossible or cannot be done, rather than merely difficult. Common in formal or indirect refusals.

ご要よう望ぼうにお応こたえするのは困こん難なんです。
It is not feasible to meet your request.
現げん状じょうでは計けい画かくの実じっ行こうは困こん難なんと判はん断だんされた。
It was judged that carrying out the plan is infeasible under the current circumstances.

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Usage patterns

困こん難なんを克こく服ふくするto overcome a difficulty
彼かれはさまざまな困こん難なんを克こく服ふくして成せい功こうした。
He overcame various difficulties and succeeded.
困こん難なんに立たち向むかうto confront or face difficulty
彼かの女じょは困こん難なんに立たち向むかう勇ゆう気きを持もっている。
She has the courage to face difficulty head-on.
困こん難なんな状じょう況きょうa difficult situation
会かい社しゃは今いま、困こん難なんな状じょう況きょうに置おかれている。
The company is currently in a difficult situation.
〈事こと〉が困こん難なんになるfor something to become difficult
資し金きん不ぶ足そくで計けい画かくの実じっ行こうが困こん難なんになった。
Due to a lack of funds, carrying out the plan became difficult.
困こん難なんを乗のり越こえるto get through or overcome difficulty
家か族ぞくみんなで困こん難なんを乗のり越こえてきた。
The whole family has gotten through the hardships together.

Expressions

困こん難なんを極きわめるbe extremely difficult; present a major challenge
技ぎ術じゅつ的てきに困こん難なんtechnically difficult

Kanji

困quandary, become distressed, annoyed
難difficult, impossible, trouble

Related words· 17

難むずかしいN5sense 1
難しい is the everyday i-adjective for 'difficult', while 困難 is a more formal noun/na-adjective often used for serious hardships or official statements.
不ふ可か能のうN3sense 2
不可能 flatly states that something cannot be done, whereas 困難 in its euphemistic sense suggests extreme difficulty without declaring outright impossibility.
苦く難なん sense 1
苦難 emphasizes personal suffering or trials endured, while 困難 more broadly covers any hard-to-overcome situation or task.
難なん儀ぎ sense 1
難儀 is a somewhat old-fashioned word for trouble or hardship, while 困難 is the more common and neutral formal term.

Show 13 more

苦く労ろうN3
困難 is a formal word for objective difficulty, while 苦労 stresses the personal experience of struggling through hardship.
苦く境きょう
困難 is a broader word for difficulty or hardship and is often used adjectivally (困難な), while 苦境 specifically names the distressing situation one is trapped in.
至し難なん
困難 is a broader, common word for difficulty, while 至難 is a stronger, more formal term for something almost impossible.
難なんN1
困難 is the common, explicit word for 'difficulty' or 'hardship', while 難 alone is more literary and usually appears as part of compounds like 生活難.
試し練れん
困難 refers to difficulty or hardship in general, while 試練 implies a purposeful trial that tests one's character or faith.
多た難なん
困難 is the general, everyday word for 'difficulty', while 多難 specifically stresses that there are many troubles piling up in a period or path.
蹉さ跎だ
困難 is the standard word for hardship or difficulty, whereas 蹉跎 is a rare, formal literary word for adversity or decline.
難かたいN1
困難 is a formal noun/な-adjective meaning 'difficulty' used in administrative or abstract contexts, while 難い is a literary い-adjective mostly confined to set phrases.
逆ぎゃっ境きょうN1
困難 is a general word for difficulty or hardship itself, while 逆境 specifically frames that hardship as a surrounding circumstance one is placed in.
無む理りN5
困難 describes something difficult but still achievable with effort, whereas 無理 suggests it is beyond possibility or reasonable limits.
ハードN2
困難 is a formal noun/adjective for difficulty, whereas ハード is a more casual, conversational way to say something is tough or demanding.
難なん関かんN1
困難 describes difficulty or hardship in a broad sense, while 難関 points to a specific, identifiable barrier that must be passed.
辛しん苦く
困難 emphasizes the difficulty or obstacle itself, while 辛苦 focuses on the painful experience of enduring it.

Opposites

容よう易いN3sense 1
容易 means 'easy' or 'simple', the direct opposite of 困難's sense of being hard to accomplish.
簡かん単たんN5sense 1
簡単 describes something simple or straightforward, contrasting with 困難's meaning of being difficult or hard to manage.

Don't confuse with· 5

困こん惑わくN1
困惑 shares the kanji 困 with 困難 but means 'confusion' or 'embarrassment', not 'difficulty' or 'hardship'.
貧ひん困こんN1
貧困 shares the kanji 困 with 困難 but means poverty or lack, while 困難 means difficulty or hardship in general.
受じゅ難なん
困難 means difficulty in doing or achieving something, while 受難 means the actual suffering or ordeal one undergoes, so the two are easily confused but not interchangeable.

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無ぶ難なんN2
困難 (difficult, hard) shares the kanji 難 with 無難 but has essentially the opposite meaning, so learners can mix them up.
困こまるN5
困難 is a noun/adjective meaning 'difficulty,' while 困る is the verb describing the state of being troubled; they share the kanji 困 but differ in part of speech.

Word family· 7

入にゅう手しゅ困こん難なん
hard to get; difficult to obtain
呼こ吸きゅう困こん難なん
labored breathing; dyspnea
学がく習しゅう困こん難なん
learning disability; learning difficulties
排はい尿にょう困こん難なん
difficulty urinating; dysuria
財ざい政せい困こん難なん
financial difficulties; financial trouble

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帰き宅たく困こん難なん者しゃ
person stranded due to mass transit disruptions after a disaster
月げっ経けい困こん難なん症しょう
dysmenorrhea; painful menstruation

Etymology

Sino-Japanese word from 困 (distress, hardship) and 難 (difficulty, trouble). The combination has been used in Japanese for centuries to denote severe difficulty or adversity.