节外生枝 (jié wài shēng zhī) — (idiom) new problems crop up unexpectedly; to hit an unexpected snag; (idiom) to deliberately introduce extra complications; to create unnecessary obstacles
Definition
An idiom for when a settled matter suddenly spawns new problems, either by accident or by someone stirring them up deliberately. Often paired with 避免 to stress prevention.
idiom
new problems crop up unexpectedlyto hit an unexpected snagto deliberately introduce extra complicationsto create unnecessary obstacles
Examples
- ，节外生枝，。Běn lái tán dé hǎo hǎo de, tā què tū rán jié wài shēng zhī, hé zuò yí xià zi jiù huáng le.We were negotiating smoothly, but he suddenly created new problems, and the cooperation fell apart.
- 节外生枝，。Nǐ bié zài jié wài shēng zhī le, àn zhào yuán jì huà zuò jiù xíng.Don't complicate things any further — just follow the original plan.
- ，节外生枝。Xiàng mù jìn zhǎn shùn lì, shuí yě méi xiǎng dào zuì hòu huì jié wài shēng zhī.The project was going smoothly; nobody expected new problems to arise at the very end.
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.