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拘泥 (jū ní) — to be overly rigid about (formalities, rules, details); to be a stickler for; to limit oneself to; to rely only on (a narrow approach)

Definition

A formal verb/adjective for being rigidly stuck on a narrow approach (e.g. rules, forms, old ideas). Often pairs with 于 + object; the opposite tone is 灵活变通.

to be overly rigid about (formalities, rules, details)to be a stickler forto limit oneself toto rely only on (a narrow approach)

Examples

  • 拘泥，。
    Tā zuò shì tài jū ní yú xíng shì, fǎn ér yǐng xiǎng le xiào lǜ.
    He is too rigid about formalities when doing things, which actually hurts efficiency.
  • 拘泥。
    Xiě wén zhāng bú bì jū ní yú mǒu zhǒng gù dìng de jié gòu.
    When writing an essay, you don't have to stick rigidly to a fixed structure.
  • ，拘泥。
    Wǒ men yīng dāng líng huó biàn tōng, bú yào jū ní yú jiù guān niàn.
    We should be flexible and not be constrained by old ideas.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

拘jūrestrict
泥nístubborn

拘 means restricting, and 泥 conveys stubbornness, so 拘泥 means being too rigid about something.

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 →

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
尼
尼ní泥nì
Same sound today

The left side is 氵, the water part; the right side is 尼, which gives the sound.

Open 泥 →
Appears in
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