---
title: "Nanguo Meaning: 难过 (nánguò) Means “sad”"
description: "难过 (traditional 難過, nánguò) means “sad; upset”. Hear its tones, see what 难 and 过 each mean and a real sentence that uses it."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/nanguo"
published: "2026-10-21"
updated: "2026-11-06"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[What does it mean in Chinese?](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning)

# What does 难过 mean?

猫头鹰māotóuyīngowl

难过 nánguò

## sad; upset

## It can also mean

- hard to get through (of times)

## Its characters

1. 难 nán difficult
2. 过 guò to spend (time)

## In a sentence

听到这个消息，她很难过。 She was very sad to hear the news.

后来，别的国家打败了他的国家，屈原非常**难过**，就跳进了一条大河。

From [端午节：龙舟和粽子 · What is the Dragon Boat Festival?](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/what-is-the-dragon-boat-festival#library-word-177-179)

[More about 难过](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E9%9A%BE%E8%BF%87)

## More words with 难 or 过

- [不过 bùguò](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/buguo)
- [超过 chāoguò](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/chaoguo)
- [穿过 chuānguò](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/chuanguo)
- [错过 cuòguò](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/cuoguo)
- [放过 fàngguò](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/fangguo)
- [过程 guòchéng](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/guocheng)
- [过度 guòdù](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/guodu)
- [过分 guòfèn](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/guofen)
- [过后 guòhòu](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/guohou)
- [过节 guòjié](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/guojie)

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