thorny; difficult to deal with
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 4 examplesadjective
thorny; knotty; difficult to handle
formalLiterally 'prickling the hand'. Used for problems, situations, or issues that are complex, sensitive, and hard to resolve.
Rú如
hé何
píng平
héng衡
yù预
suàn算
shì是
gè个
fēi非
cháng常
jí棘
shǒu手
de的
wèn问
tí题
。
How to balance the budget is a very thorny problem.
Gōng公
sī司
miàn面
lín临
zhe着
yī一
xì系
liè列
jí棘
shǒu手
de的
fǎ法
lǜ律
jiū纠
fēn纷
。
The company is facing a series of knotty legal disputes.
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Zhè这
ge个
xiàng项
mù目
cóng从
yī一
kāi开
shǐ始
jiù就
yù遇
dào到
le了
jí棘
shǒu手
de的
jì技
shù术
zhàng障
ài碍
。
This project encountered tricky technical obstacles from the very beginning.
Tā他
shàn善
yú于
chǔ处
lǐ理
nà那
xiē些
bié别
rén人
dōu都
jué觉
de得
jí棘
shǒu手
de的
gōng公
guān关
wēi危
jī机
。
He is good at handling those public relations crises that others find very difficult.