Many old people like to live in the south.
nánbian 南边 [modif: 南 south + 边 side] N south side, to the south, in the south ■ “新西兰的南边 还
有什么国家吗？” “没有了。”“Xīnxīlán de nánbian hái yǒu shénme guójiā ma?” “Méiyǒu
le.” “Is there any country to the south of New Zealand?” “No, there isn’t.”
nánfāng 南方 N the southern part, the south of a country ■ 中国的南方夏天一般很热。Zhōngguó de
nánfāng xiàtiān yìbān hěn rè. In southern China, summer is generally very hot.
nánfāngrén 南方人 N southerner
nánmiàn 南面 N same as 南边 nánbian
nán yuán běi zhé 南辕北辙 IDIOM act in opposite to one’s goal, self-defeating
nán 难 TRAD 難 ADJ difficult (ANTONYM 容易 róngyì) ■ 这道练习太难了，我不会做。Zhè dào liànxí tài
nán le, wǒ bú huì zuò. This exercise is too difficult. I can’t do it. ■ 在这个政府部门，人难见，
事难办。Zài zhège zhèngfǔ bùmén, rén nán jiàn, shì nán bàn. In this government department, it is
difficult to meet any officials or to get things done.
nándào 难道 ADV (used at the beginning of a sentence or before a verb to make it a rhetorical question). ■
难道你不知道吗？Nándào nǐ bù zhīdào ma? Didn’t you know? ■ 他连旧车都买不起，难道还买
得起新车吗？Tā lián jiù chē dōu mǎi bu qǐ, nándào hái mǎi de qǐ xīn chē ma? He even can’t
afford a second-hand car. How can he afford a new car?
nándé 难得 ADJ hard to come by, rare ■ 这个机 会很难得，你别错过。Zhège jīhuì hěn nán dé, nǐ bié
cuòguò. This is a rare opportunity; don’t you miss it.
nánguài 难怪 ADV no wonder
nánguò 难过 ADJ sad, grieved (ANTONYM 高兴 gāoxìng) ■ 听到这个不幸的消息，我们非常难 过。
Tīngdào zhège búxìng de xiāoxi, wǒmen fēicháng nánguò. Hearing this unfortunate news, we were
all very sad.
NOTE: 难过 nánguò is usually used as a predicate, and seldom as an attribute.
nánkān 难堪 ADJ embarrassed, embarrassing 难堪的局面 nánkān de júmiàn embarrassing situation, awkward
plight
nánkàn 难看 ADJ ugly (ANTONYM 好看 hǎokàn) ■ 他穿这件衣服真难看。Tā chuān zhè jiàn yīfu zhēn
nánkàn. He really looks ugly in that suit.
nánmiǎn 难免 ADJ hardly avoidable, almost inevitable
nán néng kě guì 难能可贵 IDIOM deserving praise for a rare achievement, highly commendable
nánshòu 难受 ADJ 1 feel ill, uncomfortable ■ 他 昨天晚上酒喝得太多，今天早上头疼难受。Tā
zuótiān wǎnshang jiǔ hē de tài duō, jīntiān zǎoshang tóuténg nánshòu. He drank too much last
night. This morning he had a headache and felt terrible (→ had a hangover). ■ 这双新鞋小了 点
儿，穿着难受。Zhè shuāng xīn xié xiǎole diǎnr, chuānzhe nánshòu. The new shoes are too small,
and are uncomfortable to wear. 2 feel sorry, feel bad, sad ■ 我的错误给公司带来损失，我心里很
难受。Wǒ de cuòwù gěi gōngsī dàilái sǔnshī, wǒ xīnli hěn nánshòu. I feel bad that my mistake has
caused loss to the company.
náo 挠 TRAD 撓 V 1 gently scratch with one’s fingers 挠痒痒 náo yǎngyang scratch an itch 2 obstruct, make
trouble (See zǔnáo 阻挠.)
nǎo 恼 ADJ irritated, vexed
nǎohuǒ 恼火 ADJ annoyed, angry
nǎo 脑 TRAD 腦 N brain
nǎodai 脑袋 [modif: 脑 brain + 袋 bag] N same as 头 tóu. Used only colloquially and in a derogative
sense.
nǎozi 脑子 [suffix: 脑 brain + 子 nominal suffix] N brain, mind ■ 他怎么会有这种想法？脑子出问题
了吧？Tā zěnmehuì yǒu zhè zhǒng xiǎngfǎ? Nǎozi chū wèntí le ba? How come he has such
ideas? Something wrong with his mind? (or He must be out of his mind./He must be crazy.) 动脑子
dòng nǎozi use brains ■ 遇到难题，要多 动脑子，总会找到解决的办法。Yùdào nántí, yào duō