Definition
指指点点 originally means 'to point and gesticulate', but in modern usage it is almost always used figuratively to mean 'to make pointed or critical comments about someone, often behind their back'. It carries a negative tone and implies nitpicking or meddling. You'll hear it in phrases like 让人指指点点 (giving people something to gossip about) or 背后指指点点 (talking behind someone's back). It is a fixed four-character idiom and does not inflect or separate.
idiom
to make pointed remarks behind someone's backto gossip critically about someone
Examples
- ,指指点点。Tā zuò le zhè jiàn shì, zǒng pà biérén zài bèihòu zhī.She did this and is always afraid that others will gossip behind her back.
- 指指点点,。Nǐ bié zǒng duì biérén zhī, zìjǐ zuò hǎo jiù xíng le.Don't always point fingers at others; just do your own job well.
- ,指指点点。Tā nà zhǒng bù lǐmào de xíngwéi, ràng tā zài tóngshì zhōng chéng le bèi zhī de duìxiàng.His rude behavior made him the target of gossip among his colleagues.
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