困難な（こんなんな、konnaんな）
- difficult

The Japanese word 困難な (困難な) means "difficult," "challenging," or "problematic." It describes something that requires significant effort, skill, or resources to accomplish. It can refer to tasks, situations, problems, or even people. The word conveys a sense of difficulty in overcoming an obstacle or achieving a goal.

⚫︎ 困難な問題 Translation: A difficult problem. ⚫︎ 困難な状況 Translation: A challenging situation. ⚫︎ 困難な試験 Translation: A difficult exam.

困難な (困難な) is used as an adjective (specifically a na-adjective). It modifies nouns and describes the quality of being difficult. You'll typically use it when you want to emphasize the degree of challenge involved in something. It can be used in both formal and informal contexts, depending on the situation and your relationship with the person you are speaking to. You can use it to talk about problems, tasks, tests, or anything that presents a difficulty.

⚫︎ This word is typically written as 困難な. ⚫︎ The kanji is 困難, the hiragana is な which is added as a na-adjective marker. ⚫︎ The kanji 困難 itself is written with the characters 困 (kon, difficult, trouble) and 難 (nan, difficulty, hardship). ⚫︎ There are no other common ways to write this word. ⚫︎ The okurigana (hiragana attached to the kanji) are usually not different.

⚫︎ 難しい (muzukashii) - difficult ⚫︎ 大変な (taihenna) - difficult, tough, hard ⚫︎ 厄介な (yakkaina) - troublesome, bothersome ⚫︎ 手強い (te goai) - formidable, tough (used for people or things that pose a strong challenge) ⚫︎ 困難 (konnan) - [困難] (noun form) - difficulty, hardship

⚫︎ 易しい (yasashii) - easy, simple ⚫︎ 簡単な (kantan na) - easy, simple ⚫︎ 楽な (rakuna) - easy, comfortable

このプロジェクトは困難な状況に直面している。 ・Translation: This project is facing a challenging situation. ・Explanation: This sentence uses 困難な to describe the current state of a project. It tells the listeners that this project is facing difficulties.

彼女は困難な課題を乗り越えた。 ・Translation: She overcame a difficult challenge. ・Explanation: This sentence illustrates how 困難な is used to describe a challenge that someone was able to overcome.

The word 困難 comes from Chinese. 困 (kon) means "to be in trouble" or "difficult" and 難 (nan) means "difficulty" or "hardship". Together, they form the meaning of "difficulty" or "hardship". The な is simply a na-adjective marker.