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找碴 (zhǎo chā) — to find fault, to pick on, to nitpick

Definition

Colloquial verb meaning 'to pick on / nitpick / look for trouble' — usually used when someone is being deliberately quarrelsome over small things.

verb
to find faultto pick onto nitpick

Examples

  • 。
    Tā zǒng ài zhǎo bié rén de chá.
    He always likes to find fault with others.
  • 。
    Tā lǎo shì zài zhǎo chá.
    He is always nitpicking.
  • 。
    Bié méi shì zhǎo chá.
    Don't pick a fight for no reason.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

找zhǎofind
碴cháfault

找 (find) works on 碴 (fault).

Characters in this word

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shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
戈
戈gē找zhǎo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

找 pairs 扌 (hand) with 戈 as a sound part. The idea that it shows a hand looking for a halberd is only a memory trick.

Open 找 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 碴 →
Appears in
Conflict & Agreement

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