抠字眼 (kōu zì yǎn) — to nitpick someone's wording; to quibble over p… | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

'To nitpick wording' — focus on tiny, literal word choices rather than the speaker's overall meaning. Usually carries a slightly negative tone, like 'being pedantic' or 'splitting hairs'.

verb

to nitpick someone's wordingto quibble over phrasing

Examples

抠字眼，。
Tā zǒng xǐ huan kōu zì yǎn, ràng tǎo lùn méi fǎ jìn xíng.
He always likes to nitpick wording, making the discussion impossible.
？。
Nǐ kōu shén me zì yǎn? dà jiā dōu míng bai tā de yì si.
Why are you nitpicking his words? Everyone understands what he meant.
，。
Bié kōu zhè xiē zì yǎn le, zhěng tǐ nèi róng gèng zhòng yào.
Stop nitpicking these words; the overall content is more important.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

抠kōupick at

字眼wording

字zìcharacter眼yǎnword

联合Side by side

抠 means to pick at, and 字眼 is wording; together they describe nitpicking over phrasing.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

宀子字

Meaning part形符xíngfú

宀宀miánroof

Sound part声符shēngfú

子

子zǐ字zì

Same sound today

字 pairs 宀 (roof) with 子 (child); 子 gives the sound, while 宀 relates to the meaning.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

目艮眼

Meaning part形符xíngfú

目目mùeye

Sound part声符shēngfú

艮

艮gèn眼yǎn

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

眼 combines 目, which is an eye, with 艮, which gives the character's sound.

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