complicated; complex
HSK level
复杂 (fùzá) is an adjective meaning 'complicated, complex, or intricate' — made up of many interrelated parts, hard to sort out.
It describes situations (情况很复杂), problems (复杂的问题), procedures (手续复杂), relationships (关系复杂), and feelings (心情复杂, mixed feelings). It is neutral and very common. English speakers should note two things: first, 复杂 usually carries a mildly negative or burdensome tone — 'complicated' in the sense of troublesome — whereas English 'complex' can be admiring; to praise elegant complexity Chinese leans on other words.
Second, its direct antonym is 简单 (jiǎndān, simple), a pair worth learning together. 复杂 also describes emotional intricacy: 心情很复杂 means 'to feel conflicted / have mixed emotions.' The characters read 'repeated/layered + miscellaneous.'
Character by character
Memory hook: 复 (layered) + 杂 (mixed) = many layers all mixed together → complicated.
复杂 appears in 2 Fluentide podcast episodes at natural native speed — each with the full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.
这个问题太复杂了，我需要想想。
Zhège wèntí tài fùzá le, wǒ xūyào xiǎngxiang.
This problem is too complicated, I need to think.
spoken
他们之间的关系很复杂。
Tāmen zhījiān de guānxi hěn fùzá.
The relationship between them is complicated.
neutral
手续没有想象中那么复杂。
Shǒuxù méiyǒu xiǎngxiàng zhōng nàme fùzá.
The procedure isn't as complicated as imagined.
neutral
听到这个消息，我的心情很复杂。
Tīngdào zhège xiāoxi, wǒ de xīnqíng hěn fùzá.
Hearing this news, I had very mixed feelings.
written
复杂 is written with 15 strokes (复: 9, 杂: 6). Tap replay to watch each character drawn again.
麻烦 means 'troublesome / a hassle' — focusing on the effort and annoyance something costs. 复杂 focuses on structural intricacy, many parts. A task can be 复杂 (intricate) without being 麻烦 (annoying), and vice versa.
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