hobbelige

Hobbelige is a Dutch adjective describing something that is not smooth, but full of bumps or irregularities. It is commonly used for physical surfaces such as roads, tracks, or terrain, but it can also describe non-physical situations that feel unstable or obstructed, such as a journey or a start.

In sentences, hobbelige is used before nouns: for example, a hobbelige weg (a bumpy road) or een hobbelige start (a rough start). The term can therefore refer to both literal unevenness and figurative difficulty, as in describing a plan or career path with obstacles.

The word derives from the noun hobbel, meaning bump or hump, with the suffix -ig forming an adjective. The base form is hobbelig, and the inflected form hobbelige is used in front of most nouns in common usage. The sense is closely related to other Dutch terms such as onregelmatig, oneven, or ruw, which convey roughness or irregularity, and contrasts with egaal or glad, meaning smooth or even.

See also:

- hobbel (bump)

- oneffen

- ruw

- egaal

- glatt/glad (borrowed term in some contexts)