Can I say 'It's a difficult matter for me to decide'?
Or should we say 'It's a difficult thing for me to decide'?

What's the difference between 'matter' and 'thing' when they are both nouns?

Thank you!

Question

Can I say 'It's a difficult matter for me to decide'?
Or should we say  'It's a difficult thing for me to decide'?

What's the difference between 'matter' and 'thing' when they are both nouns?

Thank you!

Answer

What context is this for?

Answer

Since I have been accused of having ' flowery ' speech, if I were writing this I would write :

It is a difficult thing for me to decide upon.

Answer

It's hard for me to decide.

Answer

"Thing" can refer to both abstract ideas and items (Chinese distinguishes between 东西 and 事情 in a way English doesn't).

"Matter" is close to "issue", it's for ideas only (usually complex ideas where there are different viewpoints)

In your sentence, both thing and matter are totally acceptable, but if you say "matter" I would assume the idea is more complex.

Réponses · 4