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挑剔 (tiāo ti) — to be picky about; to find fault with; to nitpick

Definition

挑剔 (tiāoti) describes a person who finds small faults — picky, fussy about choices or details. It's habitual and personal, unlike 指责 (a direct verbal accusation). Compared to 嫌, it's stronger and more about quality standards than simple dislike.

verb
to be picky aboutto find fault withto nitpick

Examples

  • 挑剔，。
    Tā duì zhù sù tiáo jiàn fēi cháng tiāo ti, měi cì dōu yào jiǎn chá hěn jiǔ.
    He is very picky about accommodation conditions and checks everything for a long time every time.
  • 挑剔，。
    Lǎo bǎn zǒng shì tiāo ti yuán gōng de gōng zuò xì jié, ràng dà jiā hěn jǐn zhāng.
    The boss always nitpicks the details of employees' work, making everyone nervous.
  • 挑剔，。
    Tā mǎi yī fu shí hěn tiāo ti, shì le shí jǐ jiàn cái jué dìng.
    She is very picky when buying clothes; she tried on over a dozen pieces before deciding.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

挑tiāopick
剔tīpick out

挑 means pick and 剔 means pick out; together they suggest picking out small faults.

Characters in this word

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
兆
兆zhào挑tiāo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

挑 has 手, meaning hand, and 兆, which gives the sound.

Open 挑 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
刀刀dāoknife
Sound part声符shēngfú
易
易yì剔tī
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

剔 combines 刀, a knife, with 易, which gives the character its sound.

Open 剔 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Personality & Traits

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