悩ましい

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 悩ましい is read as なやましい and is an adjective meaning difficult to decide or troublesome to resolve.
• Basic usage: It can describe a difficult choice between two attractive proposals or the challenge of balancing budget and quality.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• A difficult choice
  • 選択が悩ましい means that making a decision is troubling because neither option is easy to reject. Example: どちらの案にも長所があり、選択が悩ましい。
• A difficult problem
  • 悩ましい問題 refers to a problem that is hard to resolve because its conditions pull in competing directions. Example: 予算と品質の両立は悩ましい問題だ。