两难

兩難

liǎngnán

noun #23,734

Meanings

1 dilemma
2 quandary
3 difficult choice between two options

Characters

difficult; hard

Examples

他面临两难困境，不知如何是好。

Tā miànlín liǎngnán kùnjìng, bùzhī rúhé shì hǎo.

He faced a dilemma and didn't know what to do.

这是个两难的选择，哪边都不容易。

Zhè shì gè liǎngnán de xuǎnzé, nǎbiān dōu bùróng yì.

This is a difficult choice — neither option is easy.

Tips

memory

两 means two and 难 means difficult — it is literally 'both sides are difficult', a perfect picture of a dilemma.

Stroke Order

两 liǎng

难 nán