挠头

撓頭

náotóu

adjective #35,753

Meanings

1 tricky
2 problematic
3 difficult
4 to scratch one's head (in puzzlement)

Characters

Examples

这件事真让人挠头。

Zhè jiàn shì zhēn ràng rén náotóu.

This matter is really vexing.

他遇到一道挠头的难题。

Tā yùdào yí dào náotóu de nántí.

He ran into a thorny problem.

Tips

memory

Picture someone literally scratching their head over a hard problem — 挠 (náo) means 'scratch', 头 (tóu) means 'head'. The gesture became the adjective for 'tricky/headache-inducing', much like English 'head-scratcher'.

Stroke Order

挠 náo

头 tóu