naan4 gwo3難過难过
Jyutpingnaan4 gwo3
Yalenàahn gwo
Definition
Sad, sorry, or grieved about something.
colloquialemotion
How it's used
Expresses a deep, internal sense of sorrow or emotional pain rather than just a fleeting bad mood. It is frequently used to comfort someone who is going through a difficult life event or loss. While it can describe a personal state, it is also commonly used to express empathy for someone else's misfortune.
Examples
Seeing them like this, I also feel very sad.
Why are you so sad? What happened?
Related words
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with the literal meaning of 'difficult to pass' or 'hard to get through,' which is how the same characters might be interpreted in other Chinese contexts. In Cantonese, it is almost exclusively used to describe emotional sadness.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- Aspect markersCantonese has no tenses, but it does have aspect markers. Learn how zo2, gwo3, gan2, and hai2 dou6 show completion, experience, and ongoing action.
- In 30 secondsThe whole language at a glance. No tenses, no plurals, six tones, sentence particles. Read this before you dive into any specific topic.
- ParticlesSentence particles add tone, emotion, and nuance. Learn the most common particles in Cantonese and how to use them.
