Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Difficult to handle, tough, challenging: Used to describe a task, problem, or situation that is hard to accomplish, solve, or deal with. It often implies a level of stubbornness or resilience in the object of the difficulty.
   • Hard to "chew" or "swallow" (figurative): Originating from the literal idea of food that is tough to chew, it metaphorically describes something that is not easy to accept, overcome, or digest mentally.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Bài toán này thật sự rất khó nhằn. (This math problem is really tough.)
  • Đối thủ của anh ấy là một tay đấm khó nhằn. (His opponent is a hard-to-beat boxer.)
  • Dự án mới quả là khó nhằn, nhưng chúng tôi sẽ cố gắng. (The new project is truly challenging, but we will try.)

Advanced Usage

• Often used in informal, colloquial speech to add emphasis to the difficulty of something.
• Can describe both concrete objects (e.g., a tough piece of meat) and abstract concepts (e.g., a difficult person, a complex problem).
• The word carries a slightly gritty, resilient connotation, suggesting the challenging thing actively resists being solved or overcome.

Variants and Related Words

• Khó nhá (adj): A very close synonym, essentially identical in meaning and register (colloquial). (This job is way too tough!)
• Khó nuốt (adj): Literally "hard to swallow." Can be used literally for food or figuratively for difficult-to-accept facts or situations. (That criticism is hard to swallow.)
• Khó xơi (adj): Similar colloquial term meaning "hard to deal with" or "tough to handle."

Synonyms

• Khó khăn (adj): Difficult, hard (more standard/formal).
• Gai góc (adj): Thorny, prickly; used for complicated, problematic situations.
• Cứng đầu cứng cổ (adj): Stubborn, obstinate; often used for difficult people.

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Đụng phải cái khó nhằn: To run into/encounter something tough.
  • Nhóm nghiên cứu đã đụng phải một vấn đề khó nhằn. (The research team ran into a tough problem.)

Related Idioms

• Cứng như đá: Hard as a rock; can describe something physically hard or a very stubborn person.
• Khó như lên trời: As difficult as climbing to heaven; an idiom emphasizing extreme difficulty.

1. (thông tục) như khó nhá