難解(なんかい)

なんかい
adjective (na)
difficult to understand; abstruse
1. difficult to understand; abstruse; obscure
Describes something that is hard to comprehend due to complexity, abstraction, or specialized content. Used for texts, theories, concepts, and similar intellectual material.
この本(ほん)は難解(なんかい)だ。
This book is difficult to understand.
難解(なんかい)な文章(ぶんしょう)を何度(なんど)も読(よ)み返(かえ)した。
I reread the abstruse passage many times.
哲学(てつがく)の論文(ろんぶん)は難解(なんかい)な用語(ようご)が多(おお)くて、専門家(せんもんか)でも理解(りかい)に苦(くる)しむことがある。
Philosophy papers contain so much abstruse terminology that even experts sometimes struggle to understand them.

FORMATION: 難(なん) (difficult) + 解(かい) (understand, solve). Literally 'difficult to solve.'

USAGE: 難解(なんかい) is a somewhat formal word, commonly used in written Japanese and academic contexts. It modifies nouns with な.

COMMON COLLOCATIONS:

  • 難解(なんかい)な文章(ぶんしょう): abstruse writing
  • 難解(なんかい)な問題(もんだい): a difficult problem
  • 難解(なんかい)な用語(ようご): obscure terminology
  • 難解(なんかい)な作品(さくひん): a difficult work (of art/literature)

SIMILAR WORDS:

  • 難解(なんかい): emphasizes intellectual difficulty of comprehension
  • 難(むずか)しい: general-purpose 'difficult' (broader usage)
  • 複雑(ふくざつ): complex, complicated (focuses on structural complexity)
general
Added 2026.3.5 19:19
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