棘手

jí shǒu

HSK 3.0 Level 7 Adjective Uncommon

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Definitions

1. thorny (problem)
2. intractable

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Word relationships

Antonyms

1 item

• 容易 róng yì 容易 róng yì easy; straightforward 与棘手相对，表示简单好办: easy; straightforward

Synonyms

3 items

• 麻烦 má fan 麻烦 má fan trouble; inconvenience 形容问题、情况等复杂难办: trouble; inconvenience
• 困难 kùn nan 困难 kùn nan difficult 形容事情不容易处理: difficult
• 头疼 tóu téng 头疼 tóu téng headache 比喻事情让人感到烦恼难办: headache

Usage notes

Collocations

常与“问题”“事情”“局面”等搭配，形容难以处理。

Common mistakes

不要误写为“辣手”（“辣”音là，“棘手”的“棘”音jí）。“辣手”指毒辣的手段，意思完全不同。

Example Sentences

1 shown

这个问题非常 棘手 ，我们需要好好讨论一下。

This problem is very thorny; we need to discuss it thoroughly.

AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Child Words of 棘手

• 手 手 shǒu: hand
• 棘 棘 jí: thorns