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小题大做 (xiǎo tí dà zuò) — (idiom) to make a big fuss over a trivial matter; to make a mountain out of a molehill

Definition

A chengyu meaning 'to make a mountain out of a molehill' — over-reacting to a small problem by treating it as a major one. Used to criticize unnecessary exaggeration of a trivial matter.

idiom
to make a big fuss over a trivial matterto make a mountain out of a molehill

Examples

  • ，小题大做。
    Tā yīn wèi yì diǎn xiǎo shì jiù shēng qì, zhēn shì xiǎo tí dà zuò.
    He got angry over a small thing — really making a big fuss.
  • ，小题大做。
    Zhè jiàn shì méi nà me yán zhòng, nǐ bú yào xiǎo tí dà zuò.
    This matter isn't that serious; don't make a big deal out of it.
  • ，小题大做。
    Pī píng kě yǐ, dàn xiǎo tí dà zuò jiù méi bì yào le.
    Criticism is fine, but making a big fuss is unnecessary.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

小题minor matter
小xiǎominor题tímatter
偏正Modifier + head
大做make big
大dàbig做zuòmake
偏正Modifier + head

小 means minor and 题 means matter, while 大 means big and 做 means make, so a minor matter is made into a big fuss.

Characters in this word

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

  • 八八bāto divide; to separate
  • 丨丨gǔnsmall object

The shape of 小 comes from three small dots, later elongated into its strokes; the apparent parts 八 and 丨 are a later way of seeing it.

Open 小 →

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 題; 题 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yèhead
Sound part声符shēngfú
是
是shì題tí
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For 题, the traditional form 題 uses 是 for sound and 頁 for head, and means 'forehead'.

Open 题 →

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 →
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Idioms & Set Phrases

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