expression
it is hard to explain; it is hard to say
A set phrase used when something is difficult to put into words, often because it is complex, delicate, or beyond easy description. Has a slightly literary or formal feel.
その時の気持ちは曰く言い難しだ。
My feelings at that time are hard to put into words.
彼の作品の魅力は曰く言い難し。
The charm of his work is difficult to describe.
Common modern expression for 'cannot put into words'; more casual and direct than 曰く言い難し.
A classical Japanese phrase combining 曰く (iwaku, 'so-called' or 'the said matter') with 言い難し (iigatashi, 'hard to say'), an old terminal form. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but it has been used as a set expression for centuries.