刁钻 (diāo zuān) — wily; cunning; artful (of a person's character or questions)

Definition

Used for a person, question, or method that is shrewdly tricky in a hard-to-handle way — wily characters, devious methods, or trick questions designed to catch you out.

adjective
wilycunningartful (of a person's character or questions)

Examples

  • 刁钻，。
    Tā zhè ge rén hěn diāo zuān, zǒng xiǎng zhàn bié rén pián yi.
    He is a very wily person, always trying to take advantage of others.
  • 刁钻，。
    Zhè cì kǎo shì de wèn tí hěn diāo zuān, hěn duō rén dōu dá cuò le.
    The questions on this exam were very tricky; many people got them wrong.
  • 刁钻。
    Tā yòng le yì zhǒng diāo zuān de shǒu duàn yíng dé le bǐ sài.
    He won the competition by using a cunning tactic.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

刁diāocunning
钻zuànshrewd

Both 刁 and 钻 carry the sense of being tricky or shrewd, so together they mean cunning or wily.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 刁 →

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 鑽; 钻 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
釒Written in full as金jīn
Sound part声符shēngfú
贊
贊zàn鑽zuàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 鑽 pairs 釒 (metal) with 贊, which gives the sound; the simplified 钻 is a later shorthand.

Open 钻 →

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