错综复杂

cuò zōng fù zá

intricate; tangled and complicated

Character by character

错cuò
cross

综zōng
interweave

复fù
complex

杂zá
mixed

这家公司的股东关系错综复杂，律师花了一个月才弄清楚。

The company’s web of shareholders is so tangled that it took the lawyers a month to work it out.

Tone: neutral.

For situations, relationships, terrain and plots: 局势错综复杂, 错综复杂的关系. A standard phrase of official speeches on the world outside: 外部环境错综复杂.

Learn this in Lesson 123 · HSK 7–9: 年度数据发布会 (Press conference: the year in numbers)

A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.