挑毛病 (tiāo máo bìng) — to nitpick, to find fault with someone or somet… | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

挑毛病 (tiāo máo bìng) means to nitpick or look for faults in small details. The verb 挑 can split with a measure word: 挑了半天毛病, 挑不出毛病.

verb

to nitpick, to find fault with someone or something

Examples

挑毛病，。
Tā zǒng xǐ huan tiāo máo bìng, ràng rén jué de hěn nán xiāng chǔ.
He always likes to find fault, which makes him hard to get along with.
挑毛病，。
Bié yì zhí tiāo máo bìng le, zhǐ chū wèn tí jiù hǎo.
Stop nitpicking all the time; just point out the problems.
，。
Tā tiāo le bàn tiān máo bìng, jié guǒ zì jǐ yě zuò cuò le.
She spent a long time finding fault, but in the end she made mistakes too.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

毛病fault

毛máosmall病bìngillness

偏正Modifier + head

挑 means to pick, and 毛病 means a fault; together they mean to pick 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.

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

毛 is drawn as a feather or hair, with its strokes tracing the shape of the feather or hair.

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

疒丙病

Meaning part形符xíngfú

疒疒nèsickness

Sound part声符shēngfú

丙

丙bǐng病bìng

Same sound today

病 pairs 疒, a sickness mark, with 丙, which gives the sound; 丙 also means fire, giving a picture of lying feverishly in bed.

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