as hard as Chinese algebra
- idiom
- Offensive
:
difícil como la álgebra china (ofensivo, arcaico, informal)
- The instructions for setting up the software were as hard as Chinese algebra to follow.
Examples
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Some of the legal documents are as hard as Chinese algebra to interpret.
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To me, learning to code initially seemed as hard as Chinese algebra.
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This math problem is as hard as Chinese algebra!
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Understanding quantum physics is as hard as Chinese algebra.
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The instructions for setting up the software were as hard as Chinese algebra to follow.
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To me, learning to code initially seemed as hard as Chinese algebra.
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Understanding quantum physics is as hard as Chinese algebra.
Synonyms
∞
1.6
Not easy to do or understand
16
6.6
Complicated and hard to understand
1
5.1
Fairly difficult and needing some skill or care to do
Antonyms
How Difficult
- Offensive
133
7.0
∞
1.6
183
4.4
214
3.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
as + hard + as + Chinese + algebra
The structure 'as hard as X' is a transparent comparative simile and combining 'hard' with 'algebra' already signals considerable difficulty, so a learner who knows the words will likely infer a meaning of 'very difficult'. However, the modifier 'Chinese' relies on a cultural or stereotypical inference (that 'Chinese algebra' is especially hard) that is not predictable from the lexical meanings alone and may be unfamiliar to B1 learners. Because the core comparison is compositional but the specific pragmatic force depends on cultural knowledge, this is best judged semi-transparent.
Etymology
The saying as hard as Chinese algebra may come from Western students who found Chinese number writing and methods very strange and hard to read. That's why people used Chinese algebra as a picture for something 'very difficult', and the phrase now means 'extremely difficult to understand or do'.