大做文章 (dà zuò wén zhāng) — to make a big issue out of something; to make a fuss; to blow things out of proportion

Definition

A set phrase meaning to 'make a big fuss' or 'blow something out of proportion' — usually over a small or trivial matter. Negatively implies the speaker thinks the reaction is exaggerated.

verb
to make a big issue out of somethingto make a fussto blow things out of proportion

Examples

  • 大做文章，。
    Tā zǒng shì zài xiǎo shì shàng dà zuò wén zhāng, ràng rén hěn fán.
    He always makes a big fuss over small matters — it's really annoying.
  • ，。
    Méi tǐ zài zhè jiàn shì shàng dà zuò le bù shǎo wén zhāng, xī yǐn le gōng zhòng de zhù yì.
    The media made a big issue out of this incident, attracting the public's attention.
  • 大做文章，。
    Bié dà zuò wén zhāng le, zhè zhǐ shì gè xiǎo wèn tí.
    Don't make a big deal out of it — it's just a small problem.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 做 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

The current form 文 shows a man with head, arms, legs, and chest; the tattoo marks on the chest are no longer drawn.

Open 文 →

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

章 shows a chisel piercing a piece of jade in the middle. It originally meant treating jade.

Open 章 →

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