Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Very difficult; extremely hard: Describes a problem, question, or situation that is exceptionally challenging to solve, answer, or resolve due to its complexity, trickiness, or intricate nature.
   • Knotty; thorny: Conveys a sense of being complicated and full of difficult, tangled elements.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Đây là một vấn đề hóc búa đối với các nhà khoa học. (This is a very difficult problem for the scientists.)
  • Giám đốc đưa ra một câu hỏi hóc búa trong cuộc phỏng vấn. (The director asked a very hard question in the interview.)
  • Bài toán hóc búa đó cuối cùng cũng được giải. (That knotty math problem was finally solved.)

Advanced Usage

• The word often implies not just general difficulty, but a specific, puzzling, or intellectually demanding challenge that requires deep thought or special skill to overcome.

Variants and Related Words

• Hắc búa (adj): An older, less common variant with the same meaning of "very difficult."

Synonyms

• Very difficult: Extremely hard.
• Knotty: Intricately difficult.
• Thorny: Complicated and causing trouble.
• Puzzling: Confusing and difficult to understand.
• Arduous: Involving strenuous effort.

Related Idioms

• While "hóc búa" itself is not typically part of a longer idiom, it is commonly used in fixed phrases like "câu hỏi hóc búa" (a very difficult/puzzling question) or "vấn đề hóc búa" (a thorny/knottly problem).

adj

1. very hard; very difficult
   • câu hỏi hóc búa
     Question hard to answer