不拘小节 (bù jū xiǎo jié) — not bothered by trivial matters; not fussy about minor details; easygoing and broad-minded

Definition

Idiom meaning 'not fussy about small details' — describes someone easygoing and big-picture-minded, often as a character trait. Connotes tolerance, not carelessness.

idiom
not bothered by trivial mattersnot fussy about minor detailseasygoing and broad-minded

Examples

  • 不拘小节，。
    Tā zhè ge rén bù jū xiǎo jié, cóng lái bú zài hu bié rén zěn me kàn tā.
    He's the kind of person who doesn't sweat the small stuff and never cares what others think of him.
  • 不拘小节，。
    Yì shù jiā wǎng wǎng bù jū xiǎo jié, gèng zhù zhòng zhěng tǐ de gǎn jué.
    Artists are often not bothered by trivial details and focus more on the overall feeling.
  • 不拘小节，。
    Suī rán bù jū xiǎo jié, dàn tā zài dà shì shàng cóng bù hán hu.
    Although he doesn't fuss over small matters, he never wavers on important things.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

不拘not restrict
不bùnot拘jūrestrict
偏正Modifier + head
小节minor details
小xiǎosmall节jiédetail
偏正Modifier + head

不 'not' + 拘 'restrict' + 小 'small' + 节 'detail' means not restricting minor details.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
扌Written in full as手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
句
句jù拘jū
Same sound today

The left part of 拘 is 扌, the hand form written in full as 手; the right part 句 gives the sound jù.

Open 拘 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 八八bāto divide; to separate
  • 丨丨gǔnsmall object

The shape of 小 comes from three small dots, later elongated into its strokes; the apparent parts 八 and 丨 are a later way of seeing it.

Open 小 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 節; 节 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
⺮Written in full as竹zhúbamboo
Sound part声符shēngfú
即
即jí節jié
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 節 pairs ⺮ (bamboo) with 即, which gives the sound; the bamboo part points to a node of bamboo. The simplified 节 is a later abbreviation.

Open 节 →

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