1.
to be fraught with problems; to contain hidden issues
Said of a plan, situation, or proposal that carries hidden or unresolved problems likely to surface later. Here はらむ means to harbor or contain something internally.
この案は問題をはらんでいる。
This proposal is fraught with problems.
計画は多くの問題をはらんでいた。
The plan was fraught with many problems.
急な制度改革は、現場の混乱という問題をはらんでいる。
An abrupt institutional reform is fraught with the problem of confusion on the ground.
The verb はらむ literally means to be pregnant or to swell; figuratively it means to harbor or contain something within. 問題をはらむ describes something carrying hidden problems not yet visible.
USAGE:
- Almost always used in the ている form: 問題をはらんでいる.
- はらむ takes other abstract objects too: 危険をはらむ (to be fraught with danger), 矛盾をはらむ (to contain a contradiction).
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 問題がある: there is a problem — plainer, and refers to a problem that is already apparent rather than latent