难道

Etymology & Components

The Chinese word 难道 (nàndào) is a compound of two characters: **难** (nàn) and **道** (dào). The character **难** means "difficult" or "hard", while the character **道** means "way" or "path". Together, the two characters form a word that means "is it difficult?" or "isn't it hard?".难道 is often used in questions to express surprise or disbelief. For example, you might say 难道你不知道吗? (Nàndào nǐ bù zhīdào ma?) to express surprise that someone doesn't know something. You might also say 难道你真的要这样做吗? (Nàndào nǐ zhēn de yào zhèyàng zuò ma?) to express disbelief that someone is actually going to do something.难道 can also be used in statements to express doubt or uncertainty. For example, you might say 难道他真的爱我吗? (Nàndào tā zhēn de ài wǒ ma?) to express doubt about whether someone really loves you. You might also say 难道这就是生活吗? (Nàndào zhè jiù shì shēnghuó ma?) to express uncertainty about the meaning of life.难道 is a versatile word that can be used in a variety of contexts to express different shades of meaning. It is an important word to know for HSK learners, as it is commonly used in both spoken and written Chinese.