French word

difficulté

Pronunciation

IPA/difikylte/

Meaning

  • feminine noundifficulty

Example

Il a rencontré une difficulté pendant le voyage.

He encountered a difficulty during the trip.

Illustration for difficulté (difficulty)

More examples

Être en difficulté peut arriver à tout le monde.

Anyone can experience difficulty.

Core concept

A load or barrier that makes a task harder and slows progress.

Common phrases

  • être en difficulté

    be experiencing difficulty

  • surmonter une difficulté

    overcome a difficulty

Similar words

problème: A troubling matter that requires attention or a solution.
obstacle: A barrier that prevents progress or blocks access to a goal.

Definition in French

Obstacle ou contrainte qui augmente la charge ou la complexité d'une tâche.

Word origin

French difficulté comes through Old French from Latin difficultas, formed from difficilis, 'hard', with dis- before facilis, 'easy'.

Usage tips

  • The common pattern avoir des difficultés à + infinitive means having trouble doing something.

Other meanings

  • problemnoun
  • obstaclenoun

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word