Translation guide
This entry covers ways to express that something is difficult to comprehend, from casual spoken phrases to formal written terms. It includes adjectives, verbs, and set phrases for describing unclear speech, complex ideas, or confusing situations.
To say that something is generally hard to understand or comprehend.
The most common and versatile word for 'difficult' or 'hard'. It can refer to difficulty in understanding, doing, or dealing with something.
この本は難しい。
This book is hard to understand.
彼の説明は難しかった。
His explanation was hard to understand.
Literally 'hard to understand'. This is a very natural and common way to say something is not easy to comprehend.
この説明は分かりにくい。
This explanation is hard to understand.
彼の話し方は分かりにくい。
His way of speaking is hard to understand.
More formal than 分かりにくい, emphasizing difficulty in comprehension or grasping the meaning.
この概念は理解しにくい。
This concept is hard to understand.
To say that something is completely impossible to understand, often due to complexity or obscurity.
A strong, somewhat formal term meaning 'incomprehensible' or 'impossible to understand'. Often used in written or serious contexts.
彼の行動は理解不能だ。
His behavior is impossible to understand.
Means 'incomprehensible' or 'mysterious'. Often used for things that defy logic or common sense.
その事件は不可解な点が多い。
There are many incomprehensible points in that incident.
To say that someone's speech is difficult to understand due to mumbling, accent, or noise.
Means 'hard to catch/hear'. Used when you can't make out what someone is saying.
彼の声が小さくて聞き取りにくい。
His voice is so quiet that it's hard to understand.
Means 'hard to hear'. Focuses on audibility rather than comprehension.
後ろの席だと先生の声が聞こえにくい。
It's hard to hear the teacher from the back seats.
To say that a situation, explanation, or logic is confusing and hard to follow.
A common casual word meaning 'complicated', 'confusing', or 'tangled'. Often used for situations or explanations that are hard to sort out.
この問題はややこしい。
This problem is confusing.
A verb meaning 'to get confused'. Can describe a state of mental confusion when trying to understand something.
説明が複雑で混乱した。
The explanation was so complicated that I got confused.
To describe something that is hard to understand because it is highly specialized, abstract, or known only to a few.
分かりにくい specifically means 'hard to understand', while 難しい can mean 'difficult' in a broader sense (hard to do, hard to deal with). Use 分かりにくい when the primary issue is comprehension.
このパズルは難しい。
This puzzle is difficult (to solve).
この説明は分かりにくい。
This explanation is hard to understand.
While 理解するのが難しい is grammatically correct, it sounds stiff. Use 分かりにくい or 難しい for natural speech.
このルールは分かりにくい。
This rule is hard to understand.
A colloquial, onomatopoeic phrase meaning 'totally incomprehensible' or 'all Greek to me'. Used in casual speech.
彼の話はちんぷんかんぷんだ。
What he says is totally incomprehensible.
His writing is obscure and hard to read.