纠缠不清 jiū chán bù qīng entangled

Explanation

形容事情纷乱复杂，难以理清头绪，也指关系复杂，难以解决。

Describes a situation that is messy and complex, difficult to understand or untangle. It can also refer to a complex relationship that is hard to resolve.

Origin Story

从前，在一个小山村里，住着一位老木匠和他的两个儿子。老木匠技艺精湛，两个儿子也从小耳濡目染，学得一手好木工活。然而，兄弟俩性格迥异，大儿子沉稳踏实，小儿子却风风火火，做事常常毛手毛脚。有一天，村里来了一个富商，要订做一套精美的红木家具。老木匠年事已高，便将这活计交给了两个儿子。兄弟俩齐心协力，开始了制作。大儿子负责设计图纸和复杂的榫卯结构，小儿子则负责一些相对简单的雕刻和打磨工作。起初，一切进展顺利，兄弟俩合作默契，分工明确。但随着工期的临近，小儿子因手艺欠佳，一些工序出现失误，影响了整体进度。大儿子为保证质量，不得不重新修改部分结构。这样一来，兄弟俩之间就产生了矛盾，小儿子抱怨大儿子事事苛责，大儿子则埋怨小儿子粗心大意。最终，红木家具虽如期完成，兄弟俩却因此闹翻了脸，关系变得纠缠不清。村里人纷纷叹息，惋惜两个兄弟如此结局。而富商对这件事也只是无奈地摇摇头，感叹技艺之外，更重要的是合作与协调。

cóng qián, zài yīgè xiǎo shān cūn lǐ, zhù zhe yī wèi lǎo mù jiàng hé tā de liǎng gè ér zi. lǎo mù jiàng jì yì jīng zhàn, liǎng gè ér zi yě cóng xiǎo ěr rú rú rǎn, xué de yī shǒu hǎo mù gōng huó. rán ér, xiōng dì liǎng xìng gé jiǒng yì, dà ér zi chén wěn tà shí, xiǎo ér zi què fēng fēng huǒ huǒ, zuò shì cháng cháng máo shǒu máo jiǎo. yǒu yī tiān, cūn lǐ lái le yīgè fù shāng, yào dìng zuò yī tào jīng měi de hóng mù jiā jù. lǎo mù jiàng nián shì yǐ gāo, biàn jiāng zhè huó jì jiāo gěi le liǎng gè ér zi. xiōng dì liǎng qí xīn xié lì, kāi shǐ le zhì zuò. dà ér zi fù zé shè jì tú zhǐ hé fù zá de sǔn mǎo jié gòu, xiǎo ér zi zé fù zé yī xiē xiāng duì jiǎn dān de diāo kè hé dǎ mó gōng zuò. qǐ chū, yī qiè jìn zhǎn shùn lì, xiōng dì liǎng hé zuò mò qì, fēn gōng míng què. dàn suí zhe gōng qī de lín jìn, xiǎo ér zi yīn shǒu yì qiàn jiā, yī xiē gōng xù chū xiàn shī wù, yǐng xiǎng le zhěng tǐ jìn dù. dà ér zi wèi bǎo zhèng zhì liàng, bù dé bù chóng xīn xiū gǎi bù fèn jié gòu. zhè yàng yī lái, xiōng dì liǎng zhī jiān jiù chǎn shēng le máo dùn, xiǎo ér zi báo yuàn dà ér zi shì shì kē zé, dà ér zi zé mái yuàn xiǎo ér zi cū xīn dà yì. zuì zhōng, hóng mù jiā jù suī rú qī wán chéng, xiōng dì liǎng què yīn cǐ nào fān le liǎn, guān xì biàn de jiū chán bù qīng. cūn lǐ rén fēn fēn tàn xī, wán xī liǎng gè xiōng dì rú cǐ jié jú. ér fù shāng duì zhè jiàn shì zhǐ shì wú nài de yào yào tóu, tàn qì jì yì zhī wài, gèng shì zhòng yào de hé zuò yǔ xié tiáo.

Once upon a time, in a small mountain village, there lived an old carpenter and his two sons. The old carpenter was skilled in his craft, and his two sons had learned a good woodworking skill from a young age. However, the two brothers had different personalities. The elder son was calm and steady, while the younger son was impulsive and often careless. One day, a wealthy merchant came to the village and ordered a set of exquisite rosewood furniture. The old carpenter, being advanced in years, entrusted the task to his two sons. The two brothers worked together and started the creation. The elder brother was in charge of designing the blueprints and the complex mortise and tenon structures, while the younger brother took care of the simpler carving and polishing work. Initially, everything went smoothly, and the brothers cooperated well with a clear division of labor. But as the deadline approached, the younger brother made some mistakes in some processes due to his lack of skill, affecting the overall progress. To ensure quality, the elder brother had to redo some parts of the structure. This led to conflicts between the brothers. The younger brother complained that the elder brother was always demanding, while the elder brother blamed the younger brother for being careless. In the end, although the rosewood furniture was completed on time, the two brothers had a falling out, and their relationship became complicated and messy. The villagers sighed, regretting the outcome of the two brothers. The wealthy merchant only shook his head helplessly, lamenting that besides skill, cooperation and coordination were even more important.

Usage

用于形容事情复杂混乱，难以理清。

yòng yú xiáng róng shì qíng fù zá hùn luàn, nán yǐ lǐ qīng

Used to describe a complex and chaotic situation that is difficult to resolve.

Examples

• 事情发展到这个地步，已经纠缠不清了。

  shì qíng fā zhǎn dào zhè ge dì bù, yǐ jīng jiū chán bù qīng le

  Things have developed to this point, it's already a mess.

• 他和她之间的感情纠缠不清，令人费解。

  tā hé tā zhī jiān de gǎn qíng jiū chán bù qīng, lìng rén fèi jiě

  The relationship between him and her is complicated and confusing

Related Idioms

• 藕断丝连

• 牵扯不清

Opposite Idioms

• 一刀两断

• 干净利落