小题大作 — “To exaggerate a minor issue”
小题大作 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to exaggerate a minor issue”. To make a mountain out of a molehill; to blow a trivial matter out of proportion. Literally, “Make a big essay out of a small topic”.
Frequency
小题大作 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 小xiǎo
- 题tí
- 大dà
- 作zuò
小题大作 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 小题大作
这只是一点小误会，没必要小题大作，大家坐下来好好沟通一下就好了。
This is just a small misunderstanding; there's no need to make a mountain out of a molehill. Let's just sit down and communicate properly.
Origin and Story of 小题大作
During the Warring States period, King Xiaocheng of Zhao was known for his poor judgment, often acting arbitrarily and suffering great losses for small gains.
When a conflict arose between Yan and Zhao, the state of Yan appointed General Gaoyang to lead 100,000 troops to attack Zhao.
King Xiaocheng, believing Zhao lacked capable generals, offered 50 cities as a price to invite Tian Dan of Qi to be his general.
Lord Mafu, observing this, angrily told Lord Pingyuan that the King was making a mountain out of a molehill.
Idioms Related to 小题大作
Synonyms of 小题大作
More idioms starting with 小
- xiǎo小bù不rěn忍zé则luàn乱dà大móu谋Impatience in small things spoils great plans
- xiǎo小chǒu丑tiào跳liáng梁Insignificant villains stirring up mischief
- xiǎo小zhōng中jiàn见dà大see the big in the small
- xiǎo小rén人dé得zhì志petty person achieves success
- xiǎo小xìn信wèi未fú孚Small trust not yet convinced
- xiǎo小tōu偷xiǎo小mō摸to engage in petty theft
- xiǎo小ér儿pò破zéi贼youngster achieves great accomplishments
- xiǎo小guān冠zi子xià夏a person with poor eyesight
- xiǎo小shòu受dà大zǒu走endure minor punishment, flee severe beating
- xiǎo小qì器yì易yíng盈narrow-minded, easily conceited
- xiǎo小guó国guǎ寡mín民small country with few people
- xiǎo小dà大yóu由zhī之applicable to both large and small matters
Questions about 小题大作
- What does 小题大作 mean?
- 小题大作 (xiǎo tí dà zuò) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to exaggerate a minor issue”.
- How do you pronounce 小题大作?
- 小题大作 is pronounced xiǎo tí dà zuò in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 小题大作 literally mean?
- Literally, 小题大作 means “Make a big essay out of a small topic”. It is used to mean “to exaggerate a minor issue”.
- Where does 小题大作 come from?
- 小题大作 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 小题大作?
- 拿小题目做大文章。比喻把小事情当做大事情来处理。