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错综复杂 (cuò zōng fù zá) — (idiom) tangled and complicated; intricate and messy

Definition

Idiom for something intricately tangled in many directions at once — situations, relationships, or plots where multiple threads cross. Stronger and more literary than simply 复杂.

idiom
tangled and complicatedintricate and messy

Examples

  • 错综复杂，。
    Zhè jiàn shì cuò zōng fù zá, hěn nán zài duǎn shí jiān nèi jiě jué.
    This matter is tangled and complicated, very hard to resolve in a short time.
  • 错综复杂，。
    Zhè bù xiǎo shuō de qíng jié cuò zōng fù zá, dú zhě xū yào zǐ xì yuè dú cái néng lǐ qīng xiàn suǒ.
    The plot of this novel is intricate and messy; readers need to read carefully to sort out the threads.
  • 错综复杂，。
    Tā men zhī jiān de guān xì cuò zōng fù zá, wài rén hěn nán zhēn zhèng lǐ jiě.
    The relationship between them is tangled and complicated; outsiders find it hard to truly understand.

Origin

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 錯; 错 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
金金jīnmetal
Sound part声符shēngfú
昔
昔xī錯cuò
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 錯 pairs 金 (metal) with 昔 as a sound part; the simplified 错 is a later abbreviation.

Open 错 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 綜; 综 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mì
Sound part声符shēngfú
宗
宗zōng綜zōng
Same sound today

The traditional form 綜 places 糸 beside 宗, with 宗 giving the sound; the simplified 综 is a shorthand, so its visible parts are not the historical parts.

Open 综 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 復; 复 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 复 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (复习, 恢复) it is 復; in others (复印, 复杂) (答复, 反复) it is 複 or 覆.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
彳彳chìwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
复
复fù復fù
Same sound today

The traditional form 復 combines 彳, a walking part, with 复, a sound part, to show walking back and forth.

Open 复 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 雜; 杂 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
衣衣yī
Sound part声符shēngfú
集
集jí雜zá
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 雜 pairs 衣 (clothes) with 集 as a sound part, originally referring to mixed colours, perhaps in dyed clothes; the simplified 杂 is a later shorthand.

Open 杂 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Idioms & Set Phrases

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