Is a UI still intuitive if it needs explanation?

I’ve been thinking about the word “intuitive” lately.

We often say a good UI should be easy to understand without much explanation.

But in B2B products, especially when the product itself is complex, I’m not sure that’s always realistic.

Sometimes the interaction is simple, but the concept behind it still needs to be learned. Adding more guidance can help, but at some point the UI starts feeling heavier because we’re trying to explain everything.

So maybe “intuitive” doesn’t always mean that users understand everything immediately.

Maybe it means they can figure out what to do next without getting stuck.

How do you define an intuitive UI for a complex product?