cumbersome
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cumbersome
Describes an action or process that is unnecessarily complicated, laborious, or inefficient.
Das Ausfüllen des Formulars war sehr umständlich und hat lange gedauert.
Filling out the form was very cumbersome and took a long time.
long-winded
Describes a person or their behavior as overly formal, stiff, or complicated to deal with.
Er entschuldigte sich in einer langen und umständlichen Rede.
He apologized in a long and long-winded speech.
'Umständlich' (cumbersome) is derived from the noun 'der Umstand' (circumstance). The expression 'Umstände machen' means to cause unnecessary trouble or effort. So 'umständlich' describes something that involves unnecessary steps or complications.
Bitte mach keine Umstände, ein Glas Wasser reicht mir völlig.
Please don't go to any trouble; a glass of water is perfectly enough for me.
You can recognize the meaning from the context: If 'umständlich' (cumbersome) refers to a process or action, it means 'kompliziert' (complicated). If it refers to a person or their way of expressing themselves, it means 'steif' (stiff) or 'weitschweifig' (long-winded).
Die Registrierung für den Kurs war ein umständlicher Prozess.
Registration for the course was a cumbersome process.
In the meaning 'kompliziert' (complicated), the word often describes procedures. Typical combinations are 'ein umständliches Verfahren' (a cumbersome procedure), 'ein umständlicher Weg' (a roundabout way), or, as an adverb, 'etwas umständlich erklären' (to explain something in a cumbersome way).
Er hat mir den Weg zum Bahnhof sehr umständlich beschrieben.
He described the way to the train station to me in a very cumbersome way.
When the word describes a person or their behavior, it has a negative connotation. It means that the person is complicated, slow, or overly formal in how they deal with others or communicate.
Mit seiner umständlichen Art macht er sich das Leben oft selbst schwer.
With his long-winded manner, he often makes life difficult for himself.
complicated
Kompliziert and umständlich can both describe a procedure that is difficult to manage. Kompliziert emphasizes connections that are difficult to understand, while umständlich highlights unnecessary steps, considerable effort, or low efficiency. A procedure can be both, but the cause of the criticism determines the choice of word.
Das Anmeldeverfahren ist umständlich, weil dieselben Daten dreimal eingetragen werden müssen.
The registration process is cumbersome because the same information has to be entered three times.
Das Anmeldeverfahren ist kompliziert, weil die Regeln schwer zu verstehen sind.
The registration process is complicated because the rules are difficult to understand.
