"Thorny" • Chinese-English Dictionary
| 棘手 | jí shǒu | thorny (problem) / intractable |   |
| 带刺 | dài cì | thorny / (fig.) barbed / sarcastic | |
| 荆棘 | jīng jí | thistles and thorns / brambles / thorny undergrowth | |
| 柘 |  zhè | a thorny tree / sugarcane / Cudrania triloba / three-bristle cudrania (Cudrania tricuspidata) / Chinese mulberry (Cudrania) | |
| 棫 | yù | (oak) / thorny shrub | |
| 棘楚 | jí chǔ | thorny problem / troublesome affair | |
| 死结难解 | sǐ jié nán jiě | enigmatic knot hard to untie (idiom) / thorny problem / intractable difficulty | |
| 绕手 | rào shǒu | thorny issue / tricky case | |
| 荆山 | Jīng shān | Thorny mountain (several) / Mt Jingshan in Hubei | |
| 栉齿锯鳐 | thorny skate | | |
| 攻坚克难 | gōng jiān kè nán | to tackle a thorny problem and overcome its challenges | |
