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khó khăn

Level ≈A1 (approx.) adjectivenoun Top 1,000 most common
Hanoi [xɔ˧˦ xan˧˧]Huế [kʰɔ˨˩˦ kʰaŋ˧˧]Saigon [kʰɔ˦˥ kʰaŋ˧˧] browser voice
Syllables · tones
khórisingsắckhănlevelngang

Each syllable carries one of six tones; the mark on the vowel tells you which. How the six tones sound →

khó khăn means difficult; hard.

Meanings of khó khăn in English

Adjective

  1. difficult, hard

Noun

  1. difficulty

Example sentences with khó khăn

  • Đó là một tình huống khó khăn. It's a very difficult situation.
  • Họ nhận thức được những khó khăn. They were aware of the difficulties.
  • Tom gặp khó khăn khi ăn bằng đũa. Tom has trouble eating with chopsticks.
  • Chúng ta có thể vượt qia khó khăn. We could get over the difficulty.
  • Tom gặp khó khăn với việc mở chai. Tom has trouble opening bottles.
  • Tom gặp khó khăn với việc đứng yên. Tom has trouble standing still.
  • Đó không phải là khó khăn duy nhất. That's not the only difficulty.
  • Nó sẽ khó khăn đấy. It'll be tough.

Bilingual example sentences from Tatoeba (tatoeba.org, CC BY 2.0 FR).

Historical script (chữ Nôm / Hán)

Before the Latin alphabet (chữ Quốc ngữ) became standard, khó khăn could be written as 庫巾, 苦看. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.

Etymology

From khó.

Frequently asked questions

What does khó khăn mean in English?

khó khăn (adjective) means "difficult; hard".

How do you pronounce khó khăn?

IPA: Hanoi [xɔ˧˦ xan˧˧]; Saigon [kʰɔ˦˥ kʰaŋ˧˧]. Tones: khó — rising tone (sắc), khăn — level tone (ngang).

Meanings, pronunciation and etymology from English Wiktionary (wiktionary.org, via kaikki.org; CC BY-SA 4.0), reviewed and edited; example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). IPA shown for three accents: Hanoi (Northern), Huế (Central) and Saigon (Southern). The Listen button uses your browser's Vietnamese voice, for reference only. Levels are approximate, estimated from word frequency. Spotted a mistake? Let NgonNgu know.