sap1 zai6澀滯涩滞

Jyutpingsap1 zai6

Yalesāp jaih

Definition

Rough, uneven, or unsmooth; difficult, troublesome, or tricky to deal with.

rough; unsmooth; uneven in texture
difficult; troublesome; tricky to deal with

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How it's used

Describes situations or personalities that lack smoothness and create friction. It captures the feeling of something being stuck or resistant, whether it is a complex administrative process or a person who is stubborn and hard to please. It is a very expressive term that goes beyond simple difficulty by implying a lack of flexibility.

Examples

le1呢fan2份gung1工hou2好sap1澀zai6滯，seng4成jat6日dou1都jiu3要OT。

This job is really troublesome, I have to work overtime all the time.

nei5你zou6做jan4人m4唔hou2好gam3咁sap1澀zai6滯laa1啦，daai6大gaa1家gep2夾dou3到mai1咪dak1得lo3囉。

Don't be so difficult to get along with, as long as we can work together it's fine.

Common phrases

sing3性gaak3格sap1澀zai6滯

difficult personality

cyu5處lei5理dak1得hou2好sap1澀zai6滯

handled in a very tricky way

Common mistake

Learners often confuse this with 麻煩, but 澀滯 specifically carries a nuance of resistance or lack of flow, whereas 麻煩 is a more general term for something being annoying or burdensome.