Writing
棘手 (jí shǒu) — how to say "thorny" in Chinese
棘手
Thorny, tricky
adjective
Character composition
棘
thorn
手
hand
Radicals / Keys
手
Hand
#64 · shǒu · 4 strokes
木
Tree
#75 · mù · 4 strokes
Collocations
感到棘手
gǎndào jíshǒu
to find something thorny
棘手的问题
jíshǒu de wèntí
a thorny issue
Examples
处理这个棘手的问题需要很多时间。
Dealing with this thorny problem takes a lot of time.
这个问题很棘手。
This problem is very tricky.
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Frequently asked questions
How do you say "thorny" in Chinese?
"thorny" in Chinese is 棘手 (jí shǒu).
棘手 meaning in English
棘手 (jí shǒu) means "Thorny, tricky".
How is 棘手 pronounced?
It is pronounced jí shǒu (written as ji shou, jishou). You can listen to the pronunciation on this page.
How do you write "thorny" in Chinese characters?
It is written 棘手: 棘 has 12 strokes, 手 has 4 strokes. The Writing section above animates the stroke order of each character and lets you trace it.
What HSK 3.0 level is 棘手?
棘手 is on the HSK 3.0 levels 7–9 word list. It is not part of the six-level HSK 2.0 lists.
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