Haec quaestio satis difficilis est.

Haec means this here, and it matches quaestio in gender, number, and case.

• quaestio is feminine
• it is singular
• it is nominative because it is the subject of the sentence

So Latin uses haec, the feminine nominative singular form of hic, haec, hoc.

In other words:

• hic = this (masculine)
• haec = this (feminine)
• hoc = this (neuter)

Because quaestio is feminine, Latin says haec quaestio = this question.

Because in Latin, a noun’s gender is not determined just by its ending. While many first-declension nouns ending in -a are feminine and many second-declension nouns ending in -us are masculine, third-declension nouns are much less predictable.

Quaestio is a third-declension feminine noun. Its dictionary form is:

• quaestio, quaestionis = question, inquiry

So even though it ends in -o, it is still feminine. This is something you usually learn from the dictionary entry.

Because quaestio is the subject of the sentence, so it must be in the nominative case.

The sentence is saying that this question is something. The thing being described is the subject, so Latin uses the nominative:

• quaestio = nominative singular
• quaestionem = accusative singular

You would expect quaestionem if the word were a direct object, not the subject.

Because difficilis agrees with quaestio.

The adjective difficilis, difficile means difficult. It is a third-declension adjective with:

• difficilis for masculine or feminine singular nominative
• difficile for neuter singular nominative

Since quaestio is feminine singular nominative, the adjective must also be feminine singular nominative:

• quaestio difficilis = a difficult question

So difficilis is the correct form.

In Latin, adjectives match the nouns they describe in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here:

• quaestio = feminine, singular, nominative
• difficilis = feminine, singular, nominative

That matching tells you they belong together.

Also, the meaning makes sense: the sentence is describing the question as difficult.

Satis is an adverb here, and it means something like:

• enough
• sufficiently
• often in natural English, quite or fairly

So satis difficilis means:

• sufficiently difficult
• quite difficult
• fairly difficult

The exact English wording depends on context, but the core idea is that the difficulty is at a noticeable or sufficient level.

Not exactly.

Satis difficilis does not usually mean very difficult in the strongest sense. It more often suggests:

• quite difficult
• fairly difficult
• difficult enough

If Latin wanted a clearer idea of very difficult, a learner often meets words like:

• valde difficilis = very difficult

So satis is usually a bit milder or different in nuance than very.

Because Latin word order is much more flexible than English word order.

English usually requires:

• This question is quite difficult.

Latin can place words in different positions for style, emphasis, or normal idiom. Putting est at the end is very common:

• Haec quaestio satis difficilis est.

That sounds perfectly natural in Latin.

Latin word order often puts the verb later than English does, especially in simple statements.

Yes. Because Latin marks grammatical relationships with endings, not just word order, several arrangements are possible, such as:

• Haec quaestio satis difficilis est
• Haec satis difficilis quaestio est
• Satis difficilis haec quaestio est

These do not all feel exactly identical in emphasis, but they can express the same basic idea.

The version you were given is straightforward and natural.

Here it is singular.

That can be confusing because haec can have more than one grammatical use. For example, it can also be a plural form in other contexts. But in this sentence, it goes with quaestio, which is singular, so it must mean:

• this question, not these questions

The noun beside it makes the meaning clear.

It is a simple copular sentence, sometimes called an equational or linking-verb sentence.

Structure:

• Haec quaestio = the subject
• difficilis = a predicate adjective describing the subject
• est = is
• satis = an adverb modifying difficilis

So the basic pattern is:

• subject + predicate adjective + est

That is a very common Latin sentence type.

Sometimes, yes.

Latin often omits forms of to be when the meaning is obvious, especially in certain styles or authors. So you may sometimes see something like:

• Haec quaestio satis difficilis

with est understood.

However, including est is completely normal, and for learners it is often clearer and easier to read.

Yes.

That would mean something like:

• The question is quite difficult
• A question is quite difficult, depending on context

Adding haec makes it specifically this question. Without haec, the noun is less specifically pointed out.

So haec adds deixis: it points to a particular question.

The main dictionary forms are:

• hic, haec, hoc = this
• quaestio, quaestionis f. = question, inquiry
• satis = enough, sufficiently, quite
• difficilis, difficile = difficult
• sum, esse, fui = to be

Knowing the dictionary forms helps you recognize why the forms in the sentence look the way they do.

In a common restored classical pronunciation, approximately:

• haec = like haik
• quaestio = roughly KWAES-tee-oh
• satis = SAH-tis
• difficilis = dif-FIK-ih-lis
• est = est

A rough full pronunciation might be:

• haik KWAES-tee-oh SAH-tis dif-FIK-ih-lis est

A few helpful points:

• ae is usually pronounced like the ai in aisle
• qu is pronounced like kw
• c is always hard in classical Latin

If you are learning ecclesiastical pronunciation, some sounds would be different.