He only has a superficial understanding of the complex political situation.

superficial 由前缀 super-（表示"在...之上"）和词根 fic（来自拉丁语 facies，意为"表面"）以及形容词后缀 -ial 组成，字面意思是"在表面上的"，引申为"肤浅的、表面的"。