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 yídào 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