Writing
难看 (nán kàn) — how to say "ugly" in Chinese
难看
Ugly
adjective
Character composition
难
difficult
看
to look
Radicals / Keys
目
Eye
#109 · mù · 5 strokes
隹
Short-tailed bird
#172 · zhuī · 8 strokes
Synonyms
Collocations
难看的衣服
nánkàn de yīfu
ugly clothes
Examples
我觉得这幅画很难看，不喜欢。
I think this painting is ugly, I don't like it.
这件衣服很难看。
This clothes is ugly.
Mnemonic
[nán kàn-] Nan-Kan puts on a homemade hat made from a sock and proudly looks in the mirror 🧦. Friends turn away, because it's really 难看. "It's hard even to look!" the mirror whispers.
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Frequently asked questions
Ugly in Chinese Mandarin
"ugly" in Chinese is 难看 (nán kàn).
难看 meaning in English
难看 (nán kàn) means "Ugly".
Ugly in Chinese pinyin
It is pronounced nán kàn (written as nan kan, nankan). You can listen to the pronunciation on this page.
How do you write "ugly" in Chinese characters?
It is written 难看: 难 has 10 strokes, 看 has 9 strokes. The Writing section above animates the stroke order of each character and lets you trace it.
What HSK 3.0 level is 难看?
难看 is on the HSK 3.0 level 3 word list. It is not part of the six-level HSK 2.0 lists.
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