complication
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complication
An unexpected difficulty or additional problem that occurs during the course of an illness or medical treatment.
Bei der Operation gab es leider Komplikationen, weshalb er länger im Krankenhaus bleiben muss.
Unfortunately, there were complications during the operation, which is why he has to stay in the hospital longer.
The word 'Komplikation' (complication) belongs to the word family of 'kompliziert' (complicated). Both come from the idea that something is 'folded together' and therefore becomes confusing or difficult.
Die Planung wurde durch unvorhergesehene Komplikationen sehr kompliziert.
The planning became very complicated because of unforeseen complications.
'Komplikation' (complication) is very often used with the verbs 'auftreten' (to occur) or 'führen zu' (to lead to). You say 'es treten Komplikationen auf' (complications occur) or 'etwas führt zu Komplikationen' (something leads to complications).
Während des Projekts traten unerwartete Komplikationen auf.
Unexpected complications occurred during the project.
You can recognize the medical meaning from the context. Words like 'Operation' (operation), 'Krankheit' (illness), 'Patient' (patient), or 'Behandlung' (treatment) make it clear that it is about health problems.
Nach der Herzoperation gab es zum Glück keine Komplikationen.
Fortunately, there were no complications after the heart operation.
In the general sense, 'Komplikation' (complication) is often combined with adjectives such as 'erheblich' (significant), 'technisch' (technical), or 'rechtlich' (legal) to describe the type of difficulty.
Ein Softwarefehler verursachte technische Komplikationen im System.
A software error caused technical complications in the system.
problem
'das Problem' and 'die Komplikation' both describe something difficult. 'das Problem' is the more general word and fits in many situations when something is not easy or needs to be solved. 'die Komplikation' is used when an unexpected additional difficulty arises in a situation. The word is especially common in medical situations, but it is also used more generally. Practically speaking: a complication can always be a problem, but not every problem is a complication.
Nach der Operation gab es zum Glück keine Komplikation.
Fortunately, there was no complication after the operation.
Ich habe heute ein Problem mit der Matheaufgabe.
I have a problem with the math exercise today.