难以【nányǐ】

hard to, difficult to, hardly, scarcely, formal, nanyi

A formal "hard to", before a two-syllable verb: 。 is "this news is hard to believe". In speech the same idea is + verb.

HSK 4

AI-generated

Structure

[subject] + 难以 + [verb]

让人 + 难以 + [verb]

Description

难以 before a verb says something is hard to do – often so hard it barely happens. The verb is almost always two syllables: 相信, 理解, 接受, 忘记, 解决. It belongs to writing and careful speech.

。

This news is hard to believe.

。

I'll never forget that trip.

让人难以 + verb, "makes it hard to…", is the frame you'll meet most.

。

What he says is hard to understand.

难以 or 很难

很难 + verb is the everyday form and takes any verb. 难以 is the formal one and wants a two-syllable verb.

。

This question is hard to answer.

，。

Many people find a price like that hard to accept.

A few everyday words fuse 难 with a one-syllable verb – 难吃, 难看, 难听. Those are adjectives with their own point.

Where it goes wrong

难以 already carries "hard"; a degree word in front of it is one too many.

× 很难以相信 → 难以相信 / 很难相信

With a one-syllable verb it sounds broken. Switch to 很难 or to the fused adjective.

× 这个菜难以吃 → 这个菜很难吃

Examples

。

This news is hard to believe.

。

I'll never forget that trip.

。

What he says is hard to understand.

，。

Many people find a price like that hard to accept.

。

The problems between them are hard to solve.

。

How I feel right now is hard to put into words.

，。

The two methods each have their advantages and are hard to compare.

，。

Without everyone's help, this would be hard to finish.

，。

An opportunity this good is hard to turn down.

，。

The weather on the mountain changes fast and is hard to predict.

，。

The mountain is so high that most people can't climb it.

，。

Their views are too far apart to reconcile.

随着

难道