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Usages of nán
她 英文 很 好， 但是 学 中文 很 难。tā yīngwén hěn hǎo, dànshì xué zhōngwén hěn nán.
Her English is very good, but learning Chinese is difficult.
其实 这 个 问题 不 难， 别 担心， 你 试试 就 懂 了。qíshí zhè gè wèntí bù nán, bié dānxīn, nǐ shìshi jiù dǒng le.
Actually this question isn’t hard; don’t worry—try and you’ll get it.
学 中文 的 时候， 我 觉得 汉字 很 难。xué zhōngwén de shíhou, wǒ juéde Hànzì hěn nán.
When I study Chinese, I feel that Chinese characters are very hard.
他 说 即使 考试 很 难， 也 不 想 放弃。Tā shuō jíshǐ kǎoshì hěn nán, yě bù xiǎng fàngqì.
He said that even if the exam is very hard, he doesn’t want to give up.
这 次 考试 很 难， 谢谢 你 给 我 那么 多 帮助。zhè cì kǎoshì hěn nán, xièxie nǐ gěi wǒ nàme duō bāngzhù.
This exam is very hard; thank you for giving me so much help.
我 想 记住 她 的 手机号， 但是 有点儿 难。wǒ xiǎng jìzhù tā de shǒujīhào, dànshì yǒudiǎnr nán.
I want to remember her phone number, but it’s a bit difficult.
不管 问题 多 难， 他 都 想 试试 说 一下 自己 的 想法。bùguǎn wèntí duō nán, tā dōu xiǎng shìshi shuō yíxià zìjǐ de xiǎngfǎ.
No matter how difficult the question is, he wants to try expressing his own ideas.
她 觉得 中文 的 语音 很 有意思， 但是 声调 有点儿 难。Tā juéde zhōngwén de yǔyīn hěn yǒuyìsi, dànshì shēngdiào yǒudiǎnr nán.
She thinks Chinese pronunciation is very interesting, but the tones are a bit hard.
Test yourself: What does nán mean?
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Mandarin Chinese has four main tones plus a neutral tone. The same syllable can mean completely different things depending on the tone — for example, "mā" (mother), "má" (hemp), "mǎ" (horse), and "mà" (scold). Mastering tones is essential for being understood.
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