難なん航こう

な

ん

こ

う

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

難航する · noun or participle which takes 'suru'

Meanings

difficult voyage; stormy passage; hard flight

Literal use for travel by sea or air that encounters bad weather or obstacles.

rough going; running into trouble; proceeding with difficulty

Figurative use for projects, negotiations, or processes that face setbacks and do not go smoothly.

〈事こと〉が難なん航こうするfor something (negotiations, talks, a project) to run into trouble and proceed with difficulty
労ろう使し間かんの交こう渉しょうが難なん航こうしている。
The negotiations between labor and management are running into trouble.
難なん航こうを極きわめるto reach an extreme point of difficulty
復ふっ旧きゅう工こう事じは難なん航こうを極きわめた。
The restoration work ran into extreme difficulties.
〈場ば所しょ〉への航こう海かいが難なん航こうするfor a voyage to a place to become a difficult, stormy passage
南なん極きょくへの航こう海かいは嵐あらしで難なん航こうした。
The voyage to Antarctica became a stormy, difficult passage due to the storm.

難なん渋じゅう sense 2
難航 describes a process (voyage, negotiation, project) being stalled or delayed, while 難渋 more often describes personal hardship or being at a loss over something.
頓とん挫ざ sense 2
頓挫 means a plan comes to a sudden halt or setback, whereas 難航 implies ongoing, dragging difficulty without necessarily stopping completely.
停てい滞たいN1sense 2
停滞 emphasizes a general lack of progress or stagnation, while 難航 focuses on the specific difficulties causing that lack of progress.
苦く戦せん sense 2
苦戦 describes struggling hard against an opponent or difficulty, while 難航 describes a process or journey proceeding slowly and with trouble.
紛ふん糾きゅう
難航 describes negotiations or plans that stall and make little progress, while 紛糾 stresses that opinions clash and the situation becomes tangled or chaotic.

順じゅん調ちょうN3sense 2
順調 means something is going smoothly and on track, the direct opposite of 難航, which means it is running into trouble.
とんとんN1
とんとん describes things proceeding smoothly, whereas 難航 describes progress running into serious difficulty or delay.

難なん関かんN1
難関 is a noun for a specific difficult hurdle or barrier (like an exam), while 難航 is a verbal noun describing an ongoing process getting bogged down.

Compound of 難 (difficult) and 航 (sail/navigate). Literally 'difficult navigation', extended to general difficulties in progress.