很难说
hěnnánshuō · HSK 6
Hard to say
🤷 很 (very) + 难 (difficult) + 说 (say) = very difficult to say
Each piece is literal: 很 intensifies, 难 means hard, 说 means speak. Used when the answer is uncertain — like a verbal shrug.
很 — 彳 (step radical) + 艮 (stopping/defiance)
很 originally depicted walking (彳) combined with 艮, suggesting going against or defying. Its early meaning was 'to disobey' or 'quarrel.' Over time it was borrowed phonetically as the common adverb meaning 'very,' which is its dominant modern use.
难 — 又 (right hand) + 隹 (short-tailed bird)
Originally written with 堇 (clay) plus 隹 (bird), 難 depicted a rare bird and was borrowed to mean 'difficult.' The modern simplified form replaces the left side with 又 (hand). The phonetic role of the original left component gave the reading nán.
说 — speech radical 讠(言) + 兑
说 combines the speech radical 讠(言, 'words') with 兑, which acts as the phonetic component. The character originally meant 'to explain' or 'to speak,' and broadened to mean 'say' or 'talk.' The same graph is also read 'yuè' meaning 'pleased,' a sense later written 悦.