---
title: "Nankan Meaning: 难看 (ugly) or 难堪 (embarrassed)?"
description: "难看 (traditional 難看, nánkàn) means “ugly; unsightly”. Not the nankan you heard? See 难堪. Hear its tones, see what 难 and 看 each mean and a real sentence that uses it."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/nankan"
published: "2026-10-21"
updated: "2026-11-06"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

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

# What does 难看 mean?

猫头鹰māotóuyīngowl

难看 nánkàn

## ugly; unsightly

## It can also mean

- embarrassing; shameful
- (of a facial expression) grim; unhappy
- (of a film or book) bad; unwatchable

## Its characters

1. 难 nán difficult
2. 看 kàn to look at

## In a sentence

这件衣服的颜色太难看了。 The color of this piece of clothing is really ugly.

我爸妈说你长得太**难看**了，要请人来抓你。

From [猪八戒 · Pigsy Joins](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/pigsy-joins-journey-to-the-west-easy-chinese-15#library-word-306-308)

[More about 难看](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E9%9A%BE%E7%9C%8B)

## Other words said nankan

- [难堪nánkānembarrassed](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E9%9A%BE%E5%A0%AA)

## More words with 难 or 看

- [查看 chákàn](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/chakan)
- [观看 guānkàn](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/guankan)
- [好看 hǎokàn](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/haokan)
- [艰难 jiānnán](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/jiannan)
- [看病 kànbìng](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/kanbing)
- [看不上 kànbushàng](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/kanbushang)
- [看待 kàndài](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/kandai)
- [看得上 kàndeshàng](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/kandeshang)
- [看法 kànfǎ](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/kanfa)
- [看好 kànhǎo](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/kanhao)

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