복잡하다

bokjaphada · TOPIK 1

to be complicated, crowded

🧶 複雜 = doubled (複) + mixed (雜): layers piled up and jumbled together

Hanja 複 means double or layered, 雜 means mixed or miscellaneous. Layers on layers, all jumbled, gives both senses: a complicated problem and a crowded subway. Same word as Chinese 复杂 (fùzá) and Japanese 複雑 (fukuzatsu).

More Korean words · How Korean works