English–Chinese

“sad” in Chinese

Chinese

Also伤心 (shāng xīn) · 心酸 (xīn suān) · 悲伤 (bēi shāng)

Pronunciation

Pinyinnán guò

Example

听到这个消息，我很难过。tīng dào zhè ge xiāo xī wǒ hěn nán guò

When I heard the news, I was very sad.

Illustration for 难过 (sad)

How to say “sad” in Chinese

“Sad” in Chinese is 难过 (nán guò).

A painful inner burden that makes a difficult moment hard to pass.

Full entry for 难过: usage tips, similar words and word origin

Example sentences with 难过

看到朋友受伤，我为他难过。kàn dào péng yǒu shòu shāng wǒ wèi tā nán guò

When I saw my friend injured, I felt sad for him.

Tips for using 难过

  • In Chinese, an adjective can directly follow the subject to report a feeling, so this word does not need a separate verb equivalent to feel.

Other Chinese words for “sad”

2

伤心

shāng xīn

adjectivesad

听到消息后她很伤心。tīng dào xiāo xī hòu tā hěn shāng xīn

After hearing the news, she was very sad.

看到旧照片，我不由得心酸。kàn dào jiù zhào piān wǒ bù yóu de xīn suān

Seeing the old photos, I can't help but feel sad.

4

悲伤

bēi shāng

adjectivesad

他看起来很悲伤。tā kàn qǐ lái hěn bēi shāng

He looks very sad.

“sad” in other languages