Inklingo

How to Say "difficulty" in Spanish

English → Spanish

dificultad

/dee-fee-kool-TAHD//difi-kulˈtað/

nounA2general
Use 'dificultad' when referring to the state or quality of being hard to do, understand, or overcome, like a challenging task or problem.
A person looking at a very complex, large puzzle piece while trying to figure out where it fits.

Examples

El examen tenía mucha dificultad.

The exam was very difficult (had a lot of difficulty).

Leemos libros con diferentes niveles de dificultad.

We read books with different levels of difficulty.

The '-dad' Rule

Most Spanish words that end in '-dad' are feminine. This means you should use 'la' or 'una' with them (la dificultad).

Making it Plural

To talk about more than one, simply add '-es' to the end: 'las dificultades'.

Using the wrong gender

Mistake: “el dificultad”

Correction: la dificultad (words ending in -dad are almost always feminine).

tela

TAY-lah/ˈtela/

nounC1informal
Use 'tela' informally to express that a situation is a mess, complicated, or a major disappointment, essentially meaning 'what a hassle!' or 'what a mess!'.
A massive, disorganized, and hopelessly tangled ball of brightly colored yarn.

Examples

¡Vaya tela! No esperaba que la presentación fuera tan mala.

Wow, what a mess/disappointment! I didn't expect the presentation to be so bad.

Hay mucha tela que cortar en este tema.

There is a lot of ground/work to cover on this topic.

Idiomatic Use

This meaning almost always appears in fixed phrases like '¡Vaya tela!' or 'Mucha tela que cortar.' Do not try to use 'tela' by itself to mean 'problem'.

Confusing 'dificultad' with 'tela'

Learners often mistakenly use 'tela' when they simply mean a task is hard. Remember, 'dificultad' is for general challenges, while 'tela' expresses a more informal, often negative, reaction to a complicated or messy situation.

Related Translations

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