Chinese word

难听

Pronunciation

Pinyinnán tīng

Meaning

  • adjectiveunpleasant to listen to

Example

他的声音有点难听，我不太习惯。tā de shēng yīn yóu diǎn nán tīng wǒ bú tài xí guàn

His voice is a little unpleasant to listen to, and I am not very used to it.

Illustration for 难听 (unpleasant to listen to)

More examples

邻居的音乐很难听，影响我睡觉。lín jū de yīn yuè hěn nán tīng yíng xiǎng wǒ shuì jiào

The music from my neighbor is very unpleasant to listen to, and it affects my sleep.

Core concept

A sound or way of speaking that feels rough and unwelcome to the ear.

Common phrases

  • 声音难听shēng yīn nán tīng

    a voice unpleasant to listen to

  • 说话难听shuō huà nán tīng

    speech unpleasant to listen to

  • 听起来很难听tīng qǐ lái hěn nán tīng

    sound very unpleasant

Similar words

好听hǎo tīng: Pleasant to the ear, such as a pleasing voice, sound, or piece of music.
不好听bù hǎo tīng: Somewhat unpleasant to listen to, without necessarily sounding strongly harsh.
吵chǎo: Loud and noisy in a way that disturbs the people nearby.

Definition in Chinese

形容声音或言语让人听起来不舒服、难以接受，多用于评价声音的刺耳或说话方式的不悦感。xíng róng shēng yīn huò yán yǔ ràng rén tīng qǐ lái bù shū fú nán yǐ jiē shòu duō yòng yú píng jià shēng yīn de cì ěr huò shuō huà fāng shì de bú yuè gǎn

Word origin

难 (nán, "difficult") + 听 (tīng, "listen") literally suggests something difficult to listen to, which develops into an unpleasant sound or manner of speaking.

Usage tips

  • English "hard to hear" usually means quiet or unclear, while this word judges the sound or delivery as unpleasant.

Other meanings

  • unpleasantadjective

Opposites

Word lists with this word