咬文嚼字 — “To quibble over words”
咬文嚼字 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to quibble over words”. To be excessively pedantic about wording; to scrutinize every word. Literally, “bite phrases and chew characters”.
Frequency
咬文嚼字 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 咬yǎo
- 文wén
- 嚼jiáo
- 字zì
咬文嚼字 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 咬文嚼字
在写作时，我们应该注重表达思想，而不是一味地咬文嚼字，那样反而会失去文章的流畅性。
When writing, we should focus on expressing ideas, rather than merely quibbling over words, as that would make the article lose its fluency.
Idioms Related to 咬文嚼字
Synonyms of 咬文嚼字
Antonyms of 咬文嚼字
More idioms starting with 咬
- yǎo咬rén人gǒu狗er儿bù不lù露chǐ齿Dangerous people hide their true strength
- yǎo咬jiāng姜gā呷cù醋live a hard, impoverished life
- yǎo咬zì字yǎn眼ér儿nitpick over wording
- yǎo咬dìng定yá牙guān关grit teeth and persevere
- yǎo咬dìng定yá牙gēn根Grit teeth and persevere
- yǎo咬dé得cài菜gēn根endure hardship and live frugally
- yǎo咬wén文niè啮zì字quibble over words
- yǎo咬wén文niè齧zì字to nitpick over words
- yǎo咬yá牙qiè切chǐ齿gnash or grit teeth
- yǎo咬yá牙hèn恨chǐ齿gnash teeth in hatred or anger
- yǎo咬jǐn紧yá牙guān关grit teeth and persevere
- yǎo咬jǐn紧yá牙gēn根grit one's teeth to endure hardship
Questions about 咬文嚼字
- What does 咬文嚼字 mean?
- 咬文嚼字 (yǎo wén jiáo zì) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to quibble over words”.
- How do you pronounce 咬文嚼字?
- 咬文嚼字 is pronounced yǎo wén jiáo zì in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 咬文嚼字 literally mean?
- Literally, 咬文嚼字 means “bite phrases and chew characters”. It is used to mean “to quibble over words”.
- What is the Chinese definition of 咬文嚼字?
- 形容过分地斟酌字句。多指死扣字眼而不注意精神实质。