Chinese word

错综复杂

Pronunciation

Pinyincuò zōng fù zá

Meaning

  • adjectivecomplicated

Example

这个问题错综复杂，很难解决。zhè ge wèn tí cuò zōng fù zá hěn nán jiě jué

This problem is complicated and hard to solve.

Illustration for 错综复杂 (complicated)

More examples

历史原因使得局势错综复杂，难以判断。lì shǐ yuán yīn shǐ de jú shì cuò zōng fù zá nán yǐ pàn duàn

Historical causes have made the situation complicated, making it hard to judge.

Core concept

A tangle of connected parts whose paths cross so often that the whole picture is hard to follow.

Common phrases

  • 错综复杂的矛盾cuò zōng fù zá de máo dùn

    complicated contradictions

  • 错综复杂的因素cuò zōng fù zá de yīn sù

    complicated factors

  • 错综复杂的结构cuò zōng fù zá de jié gòu

    complicated structure

Similar words

复杂fù zá: Having many parts or relationships that make something difficult to understand or handle.
错综cuò zōng: Having parts or relationships that cross and become closely tangled together.
纷繁fēn fán: Involving many matters or details packed together, with many points that catch attention.
繁复fán fù: Involving many steps or parts and seeming overly elaborate and tedious.

Definition in Chinese

形容事物各方面互相交错、关系复杂，难以理清头绪。xíng róng shì wù gè fāng miàn hù xiāng jiāo cuò guān xì fù zá nán yǐ lǐ qīng tóu xù

Word origin

错综复杂 (cuòzōngfùzá, "complicated") combines 错综 (cuòzōng, "interwoven and crisscrossing") with 复杂 (fùzá, "complex"), linking crossed elements with a situation that is hard to sort out.

Usage tips

  • For conversational Chinese, a shorter everyday expression often sounds more natural, while this idiom suits a careful explanation of a problem, dispute, or system.

Other meanings

  • intricateadjective
  • confusingadjective

Opposites

Related words

  • 复杂性fù zá xìngcomplexitynoun
  • 复杂化fù zá huàcomplicateverb

Word lists with this word