Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Problem |
ProblemNoun1. A state of difficulty that needs to be resolved; "she and her husband are having problems"; "it is always a job to contact him"; "urban problems such as traffic congestion and smog". 2. A source of difficulty: "one trouble after another delayed the job"; "what's the problem?". 3. A question raised for consideration or solution; "our homework consisted of ten problems to solve". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "problem" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1380. (references) |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
In the theory of computation a problem is a set of finite-length questions (strings) with associated finite-length answers (strings). A decision problem is a problem where all the answers are YES or NO. A typical example of a decision problem is the question: "Is a given integer prime?" One instance of this decision problem would be "Is 17 prime?".A decision problem is usually formalized as the problem of deciding whether a given string belongs to some specified set of strings, also called a formal language. The set contains exactly those questions whose answers were "YES". The above prime decision problem could be formalized as the language of all those strings over the alphabet {0, 1} which are the binary representation of a prime number.
If there is an algorithm that is able to correctly decide for every possible input string whether it belongs to the language, then the problem is called decidable and otherwise it is called undecidable. If there is an algorithm that can always answer "YES" when the string is in the language, but runs forever without halting when it isn't in the language, then the language is partially decidable. In computability theory, it is studied which languages are decidable using algorithms with various restrictions. In complexity theory it is studied how many resources (time, memory, parallel processors, etc.) the decidable decision problems require.
Some examples of decision problems expressed as languages are:
Decision problems are important because any general problem with an n-bit answer can be transformed into a decision problem with a YES/NO answer. Solving the general problem can't be more than n times harder than solving the decision problem. There are several ways to do this transform. For example, if the general problem is of the form:
- The strings over {a, b} that consists of alternating a's and b's.
- The strings over {a, b} that contain an equal amount of a's and b's.
- The strings that describe a graph with edges labeled with natural numbers indicating their length, two vertices of the graph, and a path in the graph which is the shortest path between the two vertices.
- The strings that describe a set of integers such that a subset of them has the sum 0.
- The strings that describe a Turing machine and an input tape of this machine such that the Turing machine halts on this input.
then the associated decision problem is:
- Given an input X, return the answer string Y
Compare with: satisfiability problem
- Given an input X and an integer k, return whether the kth bit of Y is 1
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Decision problem."
| The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted. | |||
| Entry | Source | Expression | Field |
| PRF | English | Problem Report Form | Computer - (IBM) |
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |||
Synonyms: ProblemSynonyms: job (n), trouble (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Consent | Adverb: OK, yes; (assent); by all means; (willingly); no problem; if you please, as you please; be it so, so be it, well and good, of course; please do; don't hesitate. |
Idea | Subject, subject matter; matter, theme, gr/noemata/gr, topic, what it is about, thesis, text, business, affair, matter in hand, argument; motion, resolution; head, chapter; case, point; proposition, theorem; field of inquiry; moot point, problem; (question). |
Inquiry | Question, query, problem, desideratum, point to be solved, porism; subject of inquiry, field of inquiry, subject of controversy; point in dispute, matter in dispute; moot point; issue, question at issue; bone of contention; (discord); plain question, fair question, open question; enigma; (secret); knotty point; (difficulty); quodlibet; threshold of an inquiry. |
Secret | Problem; (question); paradox; (difficulty); unintelligibility; terra incognita; (ignorance). |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | Well see, there's your problem. What you should be thinking is, what would Harry Rex do (A Time to Kill; writing credit: Akiva Goldsman) Choice, the problem is choice (The Matrix Reloaded; writing credit: Andy Wachowski; Larry Wachowski) We have a saying in Tibet: If a problem can be solved there is no use worrying about it. If it can't be solved, worrying will do no good (Seven Years in Tibet; writing credit: Becky Johnston) Now, now. If there's a problem I simply pull on this string (Stuart Little 2; writing credit: E.B. White; Douglas Wick) No, no problem. Why (Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back; writing credit: George Lucas; Leigh Brackett) | |
Lyrics | Communication is the problem to the answer (Things We Do For Love; performing artist: 10 CC) They had a problem with his baggy clothes (Sk8er Boi; performing artist: Avril Lavigne) I just might have a problem that you'd understand (Lean On Me; performing artist: Bill Withers) Rather than fix the problem, they never solve them (Stay Together For The Kids; performing artist: Blink-182) You see my problem is this (Oops!... I Did It Again; performing artist: Britney Spears) | |
Clever | I can teach anybody how to get what they want out of life. The problem is that I can't find anybody who can tell me what they want. (references; author: Mark Twain) Never let a problem become an excuse! (references; author: unknown) I don't have a solution, but I admire the problem. (references; author: unknown) The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard. (references; author: unknown) To every complex problem there is an easy answer, and it is wrong! (references; author: unknown) | |
Movie/TV Titles | We've Got a Problem Houston (1974) Professor Popper's Problem (1974) La ditt problem bli vårt problem (1969) I've Got This Problem (1969) | |
Song Titles | No Problem (performing artist: Pat McLaughlin) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
Books |
| ||
Periodicals |
| ||
Theater & Movies | |||
Music |
| ||
High Tech |
| ||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Workers are shown wearing protective clothing to clean up chemical wastes abandoned in dumps. This is a serious environmental problem. Credit: Linda Bartlett (photographer). |  | The Understanding AIDS campaign marked the first time the federal government had attempted to contact virtually every resident, directly by mail, regarding a major public health problem. Credit: CDC. |
 | Air pollution is a problem in many of the world's large cities. Credit: CDC. |  | Typical Corps Survey Problem Illustrating the complexity of battlefield surveying. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection. |
 | Power block operator monitors the net as it comes aboard. If need be, he will stop the net in case of a problem. Credit: Fisheries. |  | Referral manuals and telephone numbers, the "tools of the trade" for crisis hotline volunteers, are always at their finger tips when needed to help someone with a problem. (P.; photo by Master Sgt. Keith Reed).. |
 | Spot spraying problem weeds is the preferred method of weed control rather than general application of pesticides over the entire yard. Spot spraying is a practice also used on farms. Credit: Lynn Betts. |  | Safeguarding the health of 8 million people ... is a sanitation problem of giganitc proportions. / WHO p. Credit: National Library of Medicine; photo by Homer Page.. |
 | Control of the virus diseases transmitted by the mosquito Aedes aegypti is an increasingly important problem. / WHO photo. Credit: National Library of Medicine. |  | Steaming in Panama Bay with her 14"/45 guns trained out to port, on 21 April 1934, at about the time of Fleet Problem XV. Photographed from a U.S. Army Air Corps aircraft. Credit: NAVY. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
 |  |
| "The Goose Problem" by Paige Foster Commentary: "I've heard about the problems with geese at local parks, but a picture is really worth a thousand words." | "Giant_tiny_flower" by archgimp Commentary: "I found this little meadow area behind a car factorer's near work - there was an area where you could get *underneath* the meadow-like flowers and grasses - the problem is the wind - took me 10 minutes of waiting for this flower to stop moving enough to g" |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. | |
| Author | Quotation |
Author Unknown | The best angle from which to approach a problem is the Try-angle. |
Bradford | For every complex problem there is a simple solution -- and it's wrong. |
Brigham Young | The biggest labor problem is tomorrow. |
Henry Kissinger | Each success only buys an admission ticket to a more difficult problem. |
Lindsay Anderson | Art is an experience, not the formulation of a problem. |
Milton Friedman | The government solution to a problem is usually as bad as the problem. |
R. W. Johnson | Any solution to a problem changes the problem. |
Ralph Waldo Emerson | Courage consists in equality to the problem before us. |
Voltaire | No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Author | Date | Quotation |
Treaty of Versailles | 1919 | The Commission shall in general have wide latitude as to its control and handling of the whole reparation problem as dealt with in this Part of the present Treaty and shall have authority to interpret its provisions. (reference) |
Brown v. Board of Education | 1954 | In approaching this problem, we cannot turn the clock back to 1868 when the Amendment was adopted, or even to 1896 when Plessy v. Ferguson was written. (reference) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Title | Author | Quote |
Sylvie and Bruno | Carroll, Lewis | But the unsolved problem did not worry me so much as at another time it might have done, there were so many other things to attend to. |
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | Douglas Adams | The planet has - or rather had- a problem, which was this: most of the people on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | The first problem contains the question of labour |
Time Enough for Love | Robert Heinlein | A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly |
Gulliver's Travels | Swift, Jonathan | But he was then deep in a problem, and we attended at least an hour, before he could solve it. |
Walden | Thoreau, Henry David | The farmer is endeavoring to solve the problem of a livelihood by a formula more complicated than the problem itself |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | BPD is a worldwide problem. (references) | |
Then you have a different problem. (references) | ||
Asthma is a problem among all races. (references) | ||
Business | The abduction of women is a serious problem. (references) | |
Warehouses pose a particular problem in Argentina. (references) | ||
This change causes a problem with loading capacity. (references) | ||
Children | Guatemala | Persons with Disabilities The Constitution provides that the State should protect persons with disabilities; however, persons with physical disabilities suffer discrimination in education and employment practices, and few resources are devoted to combat this problem or to assist persons with disabilities. (references) |
Brunei | A special facility with trained educators is needed to accommodate the children with disabilities who cannot be assimilated into normal classrooms, and the Ministry of Education continued to study the problem. (references) | |
Ethiopia | There are approximately 200,000 street children in urban areas, of which 150,000 reside in Addis Ababa; however, the figures are difficult to estimate, and observers believe the problem is growing. (references) | |
Civil Liberties | Yugoslavia | Media independence remained a problem. (references) |
Sri Lanka | Bureaucratic delays in processing requests have been reduced, but still are a problem. (references) | |
South Africa | The investigation examined selected publications over a limited period, looking at the problem of subliminal racism and the disproportionate representation of whites in media ownership and newsroom staffing. (references) | |
Discrimination | East Timor | Nonetheless violence against women is a problem, as is discrimination against women and religious and ethnic minorities. (references) |
Bhutan | Women are accorded respect in the traditions of most ethnic groups, although some exile groups claim that gender discrimination is a problem. (references) | |
Latvia | Amendments to the Constitution passed by Parliament in 1998 provide for the protection from discrimination due to race, sex, religion, language, or disability; however, discrimination against women in the workplace is a problem. (references) | |
Economic History | Ukraine | Fueling the problem, new MC customers prefer prepaid card packages and utilize the mobile phone as an emergency communications system, which has impacted network capacity but does not generate new revenue growth. (references) |
Ukraine | Low salaries add to the problem. (references) | |
Ukraine | Copyright piracy also remains a problem in the market for music cassettes and movie videos. (references) | |
Human Rights | Argentina | In April the Buenos Aires Supreme Court called for the Provincial Minors Council to resolve the problem of some 130 minors under detention in police stations in Buenos Aires Province. (references) |
Haiti | The Justice Ministry has made occasional efforts to address the problem of prolonged pretrial detention. (references) | |
East Timor | In East Timor, arbitrary detention of persons suspected of proindependence sympathies by prointegration militia groups was a continuing problem in the months prior to and shortly after the September 1999 consultation. (references) | |
Indigenous People | Mexico | In September an ICRC representative stated that while malnutrition still was a problem for displaced indigenous communities who fled their homes in Chiapas, the problem was not linked solely to food shortages but also to general health conditions. (references) |
Bolivia | Although the Agrarian Reform Law extended the protection of the national labor law to all paid agricultural workers, including indigenous workers, the problem persists due to lack of effective enforcement. (references) | |
El Salvador | These small indigenous groups exist in the poorest parts of the rural countryside where employment opportunities are few and domestic violence is a problem. (references) | |
Minorities | Cote d'Ivoire | Members of northern ethnic groups that are found in neighboring countries as well as in the country often are required to document their citizenship, whereas members of historically or currently politically powerful ethnic groups of the south and west reportedly do not have this problem. (references) |
Hungary | The country evaluation reports issued by the European Commission and the European Parliament both emphasized the pressing and urgent character of the Roma problem. (references) | |
Hong Kong | Similar organizations work for the interests of Philippine domestic helpers, of whom there are approximately 155,000. According to organizations representing migrant workers, police intimidation of migrant workers also is a problem. (references) | |
Political Economy | SPAIN | To combat this problem in the textile and leather goods sector, the government began to promote the creation and sale of devices to protect trademark goods and to train police and customs officials to detect counterfeit products more effectively. (references) |
UKRAINE | In August 2001, USTR published a list of Ukrainian exports to the United States, which could be subject to trade sanctions if Ukraine failed to take adequate steps to address the problem. (references) | |
Cyprus | The Republic of Cyprus applied for full EU membership on July 4, 1990 and began formal accession negotiations with the EU on March 31, 1998. The island's political problem presents the greatest challenge to its accession course. (references) | |
Political Rights | Thailand | The election process generally was viewed as free and fair; however, it was marred by widespread vote buying, a recurrent problem. (references) |
Trade | Azerbaijan | Personal items, tools of trade, and business samples may be imported with little problem. (references) |
Bahrain | Strikes are prohibited in Bahrain, so work stoppages are not a significant problem. (references) | |
Travel | Colombia | Visitors with a particular medical problem may therefore wish to consider supplemental medical insurance with specific overseas coverage, including provision for medical evacuation or other emergencies. (references) |
Cote D'ivoire | The main problem is paperwork-related delays caused by the monopolistic customs and freight handling system. (references) | |
Lithuania | Food contamination is not a serious problem. (references) | |
Women | Botswana | Reports of sexual exploitation, abuse, and criminal sexual assault are increasing, and public awareness of the problem generally is growing. (references) |
Vietnam | The law addresses the problem of domestic violence, officials increasingly acknowledge the problem, and it is increasingly discussed in the media; however, authorities do not enforce the law effectively. (references) | |
Afghanistan | In a climate of secrecy and impunity, it was likely that domestic violence against women remained a serious problem. (references) | |
Worker Rights | Russia | No specific legislation addresses the problem of trafficking, nor has the Government established special task forces. (references) |
Burma | The Government acknowledged that the problem exists and began creating a framework to address it. However, it has not committed sufficient resources to combat trafficking. (references) | |
Thailand | In June 1999, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Government and several domestic NGO's provided for some detailed police procedures to assist with the problem of trafficked persons being detained by the authorities. (references) | |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | NEGRO, n. The piece de resistance in the American political problem. Representing him by the letter n, the Republicans begin to build their equation thus: "Let n = the white man." This, however, appears to give an unsatisfactory solution. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
Bill Maher | That's right. It's insane the way they are trying to make it un-American, to have a different idea about the way we should handle a common problem. |
Bob Jones | I certainly can't speak for all of the Southerners or all of the Northerners. This problem is a human nature problem, it's not a regional problem. Racism exists in the North, East, South, West, everywhere. |
Bob Woodward | To the United States. To, as he kept saying, the neighborhood in the Middle East. And, to a certain extent, to everyone. And they've been working on this a year. The problem in North Korea at least came to a head, really, in the last four, five months. |
Dennis Miller | As a matter of fact, the main problem with fast food for most Americans is that it isn't fast enough. |
Jerry Lewis | Well, I know a lady in Cleveland that's gone to a proctologist twice because of the same problem. So I don't know what to do about that. |
Linda Thompson | You know, Elvis fooled himself into thinking he didn't have a drug problem because everything that he took was by prescription. |
Matthew Perry | There's ups and downs about it. At first I thought there was a downside, that it was harder for me, because the nature of the problem, you want to be able to kind of take care of it on your own, with the right people. |
Mattie Stepanek | Jimmy Carter is my hero because he is a humble peacemaker. He will write a book. He'll solve a problem. He'll build a house. |
Rush Limbaugh | If you solve the security problem, you'll solve the economic problem as well. |
Sylvia Browne | OK. But this is very reasonable because you have always had a little bit of problem, as many people have, but especially you, of making choices. You're always afraid you're going to make the wrong choice. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
Calvin Coolidge | 1923-1929 | We are not without our problems, but our most important problem is not to secure new advantages but to maintain those which we already possess. |
Harry S. Truman | 1945-1953 | Today inflation is our greatest immediate domestic problem. |
John F. Kennedy | 1961-1963 | If there is a problem here, it is that we cannot supply the spontaneous and mounting demand. |
Lyndon B. Johnson | 1963-1969 | Poverty is a national problem, requiring improved national organization and support. |
Gerald Ford | 1974-1977 | To alleviate this problem at the Federal level, my new budget proposes the construction of four new Federal facilities. |
Jimmy Carter | 1977-1981 | I'm familiar with their problem, and I know from Congress' action that you are too. |
Ronald Reagan | 1981-1989 | Let's be clear about where the deficit problem comes from. |
Bill Clinton | 1993-2001 | Let us be candid about this difficult problem. |
George W. Bush | 2001-2005 | Well, we don't know exactly, and that's the problem. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Problem" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 99.99% of the time. "Problem" is used about 28,962 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 99.99% | 28,960 | 294 |
| Total | 100.00% | 28,962 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "problem": 0/1 knapsack problem ♦ 8 queens problem ♦ a devil of a problem ♦ Architecture for Interactive Problem Solving by Cooperating Data and Knowledge Bases ♦ arithmetical problem ♦ assignment problem ♦ awkward problem ♦ baffling problem ♦ banana problem ♦ Bartholomew's problem ♦ cause a problem ♦ check problem ♦ colour problem ♦ communication problem ♦ controversial problem ♦ crux of the problem ♦ deal with a problem ♦ decision problem ♦ Determinate problem ♦ dining Philosophers Problem ♦ Discussion of a problem ♦ eight queens problem ♦ explore the cause of the problem ♦ face a problem ♦ Galton's individual difference problem ♦ general problem solver ♦ grapple with a problem ♦ halting problem ♦ hamiltonian problem ♦ Hamilton's problem ♦ health problem ♦ heart of the problem ♦ heuristic problem solving ♦ hit a problem ♦ homework problem ♦ Indeterminate problem ♦ knapsack problem ♦ knotty problem ♦ leisure problem ♦ lick a problem ♦ Linear problem ♦ no problem ♦ NUXI problem ♦ organizational problem ♦ plane problem ♦ post office problem ♦ problem area ♦ problem child ♦ problem code ♦ problem decomposition ♦ problem description ♦ problem drinker ♦ problem family ♦ problem maker ♦ problem page ♦ problem play ♦ problem reduction ♦ problem solver ♦ problem solving ♦ problem space ♦ problem state ♦ Queens Problem ♦ race problem ♦ resolve a problem ♦ ridge problem ♦ satisfiability problem ♦ search problem ♦ set a problem ♦ set smb. a problem ♦ simple problem ♦ skin problem ♦ solid problem ♦ solve a problem ♦ square up to problem ♦ staff problem ♦ sticky problem ♦ supply problem ♦ tackle the problem of ♦ tax problem ♦ that is not a problem ♦ that's your problem ♦ the problem under discussion ♦ thorny problem ♦ thundering herd problem ♦ time estimation problem ♦ time perception problem ♦ toy problem ♦ traveling salesman problem ♦ travelling salesman problem ♦ unlimited problem ♦ without any problem ♦ year 2000 problem. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "problem": problem-areas, problem-based, Problem-Based Learning, problem-causing, problem-centred, problem-direct, problem-dominated, problem-focused, problem-free, problem-he, problem-identification, problem-orientated, problem-oriented, Problem-Oriented, problem-oriented language, problem-owner, problem-page, problem-posing, problem-proof, problem-related, problem-ridden, problem-solution, problem-solutions, problem-solver, problem-solvers, problem-solving, problem-solving, problem-specific, problem-the, problem-understanding. | |
Ending with "problem": down-problem, up-problem. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day | Expression | Frequency per Day |
eye problem | 836 | medical problem | 264 |
math problem | 749 | marriage problem | 258 |
skin problem | 709 | liver problem | 255 |
foot problem | 693 | teen problem | 251 |
thyroid problem | 655 | erection problem | 244 |
relationship problem | 619 | kidney problem | 241 |
car problem | 592 | health problem | 234 |
irs problem | 564 | gall bladder problem | 221 |
problem solving | 524 | sleep problem | 208 |
computer problem | 501 | math word problem | 194 |
problem | 447 | social problem | 178 |
vision problem | 411 | ear problem | 177 |
back problem | 407 | word problem | 177 |
logic problem | 405 | plumbing problem | 171 |
weight problem | 373 | pregnancy problem | 168 |
heart problem | 335 | penis problem | 165 |
knee problem | 323 | tax problem | 161 |
marital problem | 305 | cat problem | 157 |
credit problem | 302 | lawn problem | 156 |
stomach problem | 276 | bladder problem | 155 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Translations for "problem"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Afrikaans | probleem (trouble). (various references) | |
Albanian | problematik (problematic), problem (affair, business, concern, issue, knot, proposition, question), ves (defect, habit, immorality, kink, vice), hall (disappointment, pinch, scrape, trouble), çështje e vështirë, çështje (affair, business, case, cause, concern, count, issue, matter, point, question, shebang, subject). (various references) | |
Arabic | موضوع (issue, matter), مسألة (issue), مسألة (affair, case, issue, matter, proposition, question, thing), مزاجي (temperamental), معضلة (dilemma, enigma, mystery, puzzle, riddle), معالج مشكلة, مشكلة (issue, kink, labyrinth, nodus, nut, question, snag, trouble, twister), مشكل (consisting of, formative, formed), طبعي (easy), صعب المراس (awkward, churlish, indocile, intractable, sticky, ungainly, ungovernable, unruly, untoward, wayward), إنفعالي (declamatory, emotive, intense, passionate, sentimental). (various references) | |
Basque | problema. (various references) | |
Bulgarian | труден въпрос (poser), въпрос (affair, interrogation, interrogatory, matter, question, subject matter, thing, topic), загадка (crux, enigma, puzzle, riddle), задача (mission, proposition, undertaking), проблема. (various references) | |
Chinese | 課題 (task), 问题 (Issue, matter, Question), 難 (difficult, difficulty, disaster, distress, not good, to scold), 問題 (issue, topic), 困難 (difficulty, issue). (various references) | |
Czech | problém (challenge, crux, headache, issue, proposition, question, snag). (various references) | |
Danish | problem (trouble). (various references) | |
Dutch | probleem (probleem, trouble), vraagstuk (trouble), vraagpunt (trouble), opgave (assigned job, job, task, trouble). (various references) | |
Esperanto | problemo (trouble). (various references) | |
Estonian | viga. (various references) | |
Faeroese | vandamál (trouble), spurningur (trouble), mál (affair, aim, business, business deal, case, goal, idiom, language, matter, purpose, speech, target, tongue, trouble). (various references) | |
Farsi | موضوع (Head, Issue, Motif, Object, Point, Proposition, Question, Subject, Text, Theme, Topic), مسلله (Example, Question, Theorem), معما (Conundrum, Crux, Enigma, Mystery, Puzzle, Quandary), مشکل (Difficult, Hard, Ill, Knot, Uphill), چیستان (Conundrum, Crux, Enigma, Puzzle). (various references) | |
Finnish | pulma (difficulty, dilemma), probleema, tehtävä (commission, duty, function, lesson, mission, task), ongelma (puzzle), laskuesimerkki (example, sum), esimerkki (example, illustration, instance, sum). (various references) | |
French | problème. (various references) | |
Galician | problema. (various references) | |
German | Problem (Business, challenge, hitch, issue, question, snag, trouble), Aufgabe (abandonment, assigned job, assignment, business, checking in, discontinuation, dispatch, dropping, duty, exercise, function, giving up, homework, insertion, job, labor, labour, mailing, mission, placing, purpose, question, registration, release, relinquishment, remit, renouncement, renunciation, retirement, serve, service, stint, surrender, task, vacation, work), Schwierigkeit (arduousness, bother, difficulty, hitch, severity, snag, stiffness, tangle, tightness, trouble). (various references) | |
Greek | πρόβλημα (proposition, question). (various references) | |
Guarani | problema. (various references) | |
Haitian Creole | pwoblèm (problems). (various references) | |
Hawaiian | hall (trouble). (various references) | |
Hebrew | שאלה (inquiry, issue, petition, query, question, request, wish), פרובלמה, בעייה, בעיה (dilemma, question), סוגיה (issue, subject). (various references) | |
Hungarian | probléma (controversy, proposition, question, stickler). (various references) | |
Indonesian | persoalan (issue, subject, trouble), masalah (complication, question, trouble). (various references) | |
Irish | fhadhb. (various references) | |
Italian | problema (case, issue, knot, question, rub, trouble). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 考え物 (puzzle), 疑問 (doubt, guess, question), 疑問 (doubt, guess, question), 悩み (agony, anguish, distress, trouble, worry), 問題 (question), 問題 (question), 問 (question). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | ぎもん (doubt, guess, question), なやみ (agony, anguish, distress, trouble, worry), かんがえもの (puzzle), もんだい (question), もん (coat of arms, crest, gate, question). (various references) | |
Korean | 문제 (Problematic). (various references) | |
Malagasy | manahirana. (various references) | |
Manx | keisht (issue, issue of law, proposition, puzzle, question), feysht (query, question), crampys (complexity). (various references) | |
Occitan | problèma. (various references) | |
Papiamen | problema (trouble), labatiba (trouble). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | oblempray.(various references) | |
Polish | problem (question, trouble). (various references) | |
Portuguese | problema (proposition, question, quiz, trouble). (various references) | |
Portuguese Brazilian | problema. (various references) | |
Romanian | problemã (case, difficulty, matter, mission, mystery, node, point, question, rider, whys), situaţie dificilã (difficulty, dilemma, hobble, impasse), chestiune (affair, business, discussion, matter, question, subject, thing, work). (various references) | |
Russian | проблема (dead meat, glitch, poser, trouble). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | problematičan (conjectural, problematic, troubled), problem, zadatak (assignment, errand, job, mission, task). (various references) | |
Spanish | prueba (assay, audition, correction, demonstration, endorsement, event, evidence, exam, exercise, experiment, fitting, Gage, gauge, hardship, indorsation, indorsement, offer, paper, proof, proving, race, sign, test, token, trial, trouble, try out), problema (example, hassle, issue, proposition, question, tender, trouble, worry). (various references) | |
Swedish | problem (facer, hassle, issue, problems, question, snarl, stickler, trouble). (various references) | |
Turkish | sorun (case, cause, difficulty, funeral, grievance, hangup, hurdle, ill, issue, knot, look out, packet, proposition, question, trouble), problem (cause, funeral, question, rub, trouble). (various references) | |
Turkmen | problema (r). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | складна справа, завдання (assignment, errand, job, lesson, objective, task), задача (exercise, puzzle), проблема (puzzle, question). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | vấn đề bài toán, có vấn đề, có luận đề. (various references) | |
Welsh | problem, dyrysbwnc. (various references) | |
Yucatec | ba'te'el (trouble). (various references) | |
Zulu | inkinga (trouble). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Greek | 700 BCE-300 CE | problema. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "problem": problematic, problematical, problematically, problematics, problems. (additional references) | |
Words ending with "problem": multiproblem, nonproblem, subproblem. (additional references) | |
Words containing "problem": nonproblems, subproblems, unproblematic. (additional references) | |
| |
"Problem" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: peroblem, ploblem, Poblet, porblem, Preble, Pribilov, probelm, probem, probie, probl, proble, problema, probleme, problemo, probley, problum. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "problem" (pronounced prÄ"blum) |
| 4 | -b l u m | pablum, emblem. |
| 3 | -l u m | alum, antebellum, asylum, bedlam, pendulum, phylum, column, curriculum, diverticulum, exemplum, flagellum, fullam, golem, hoodlum, slalom, solemn, Solum, tantalum. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "b-e-l-m-o-p-r" | |
-2 letters: brome, loper, moper, morel, omber, ombre, poler, probe, proem, prole, rebop, roble. | |
-3 letters: berm, bole, bore, lobe, lope, lore, merl, mole, mope, more, omer, orle, perm, pleb, poem, pole, pome, pore, prom, repo, robe, role, romp, rope. | |
-4 letters: bel, bop, bro, elm, lob, lop, mel, mob, mol, mop, mor, obe, ole, ope, orb. | |
| Words containing the letters "b-e-l-m-o-p-r" | |
+1 letter: problems. | |
+3 letters: biopolymer, comparable, importable, improbable, improvable, nonproblem, phlebogram, promotable, subproblem. | |
+4 letters: biopolymers, nonproblems, performable, phlebograms, problematic, subproblems. | |
+5 letters: compressible, imponderable, imponderably, incomparable, multiproblem, perambulator, polyembryony, polyribosome, problematics, programmable. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Images: Digital Art | 9. Quotations: Familiar 10. Quotations: Historic 11. Quotations: Fiction 12. Quotations: Non-fiction | 13. Quotations: Spoken 14. Quotations: Speeches 15. Usage Frequency 16. Expressions | 17. Expressions: Internet 18. Translations: Modern 19. Translations: Ancient 20. Abbreviations | 21. Acronyms 22. Derivations 23. Rhymes 24. Anagrams | 25. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
