拘泥 (jū ní) — to be overly rigid about (formalities, rules, details); to be a stickler for; to limit oneself to; to rely only on (a narrow approach)
Definition
A formal verb/adjective for being rigidly stuck on a narrow approach (e.g. rules, forms, old ideas). Often pairs with 于 + object; the opposite tone is 灵活变通.
to be overly rigid about (formalities, rules, details)to be a stickler forto limit oneself toto rely only on (a narrow approach)
Examples
- 拘泥，。Tā zuò shì tài jū ní yú xíng shì, fǎn ér yǐng xiǎng le xiào lǜ.He is too rigid about formalities when doing things, which actually hurts efficiency.
- 拘泥。Xiě wén zhāng bú bì jū ní yú mǒu zhǒng gù dìng de jié gòu.When writing an essay, you don't have to stick rigidly to a fixed structure.
- ，拘泥。Wǒ men yīng dāng líng huó biàn tōng, bú yào jū ní yú jiù guān niàn.We should be flexible and not be constrained by old ideas.
Appears in
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