咬文嚼字
yǎo wén jiáo zì
Pinyin

Definition

咬文嚼字
 - 
yǎo wén jiáo zì
  1. to bite words and chew characters (idiom); punctilious about minutiae of wording

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

中文
Zhōng wén
  1. 1 Chinese language
博文
bó wén
  1. 1 blog article
  2. 2 to write a blog article (netspeak)
原文
yuán wén
  1. 1 original text
名字
míng zi
  1. 1 name (of a person or thing)
  2. 2 CL:個|个[gè]
咬
yǎo
  1. 1 to bite
  2. 2 to nip
字
zì
  1. 1 letter
  2. 2 symbol
  3. 3 character
  4. 4 word
  5. 5 CL:個|个[gè]
  6. 6 courtesy or style name traditionally given to males aged 20 in dynastic China
数字
shù zì
  1. 1 numeral
  2. 2 digit
  3. 3 number
  4. 4 figure
  5. 5 amount
  6. 6 digital (electronics etc)
  7. 7 CL:個|个[gè]
文
Wén
  1. 1 surname Wen
文化
wén huà
  1. 1 culture
  2. 2 civilization
  3. 3 cultural
  4. 4 CL:個|个[gè],種|种[zhǒng]
文字
wén zì
  1. 1 character
  2. 2 script
  3. 3 writing
  4. 4 written language
  5. 5 writing style
  6. 6 phraseology
  7. 7 CL:個|个[gè]
文章
wén zhāng
  1. 1 article
  2. 2 essay
  3. 3 literary works
  4. 4 writings
  5. 5 hidden meaning
  6. 6 CL:篇[piān],段[duàn],頁|页[yè]
文艺
wén yì
  1. 1 literature and art
英文
Yīng wén
  1. 1 English (language)
一文不值
yī wén bù zhí
  1. 1 worthless (idiom)
  2. 2 no use whatsoever
三文鱼
sān wén yú
  1. 1 salmon (loanword)
人文
rén wén
  1. 1 humanities
  2. 2 human affairs
  3. 3 culture
作文
zuò wén
  1. 1 to write an essay
  2. 2 composition (student essay)
  3. 3 CL:篇[piān]
全文
quán wén
  1. 1 entire text
  2. 2 full text
分文
fēn wén
  1. 1 a single penny
  2. 2 a single cent
十字
shí zì
  1. 1 cross road
  2. 2 cross-shaped
  3. 3 crucifix
  4. 4 the character ten

Idioms (20)

一字一泪
yī zì yī lèi
  1. 1 each word is a teardrop (idiom)
一字不提
yī zì bù tí
  1. 1 to not mention a single word (about sth) (idiom)
一字千金
yī zì qiān jīn
  1. 1 one word worth a thousand in gold (idiom)
  2. 2 (in praise of a piece of writing or calligraphy) each character is perfect
  3. 3 each word is highly valued
一字褒贬
yī zì bāo biǎn
  1. 1 dispensing praise or blame with a single word (idiom)
  2. 2 concise and powerful style
一年被蛇咬十年怕井绳
yī nián bèi shé yǎo shí nián pà jǐng shéng
  1. 1 bitten by a snake in one year, fears the well rope for ten years (idiom); once bitten twice shy
一文不值
yī wén bù zhí
  1. 1 worthless (idiom)
  2. 2 no use whatsoever
一朝被蛇咬，十年怕井绳
yī zhāo bèi shé yǎo , shí nián pà jǐng shéng
  1. 1 once bitten by a snake, ten years in fear of a well rope
  2. 2 once bitten, twice shy (idiom)
一纸空文
yī zhǐ kōng wén
  1. 1 a worthless piece of paper (idiom)
不值一文
bù zhí yī wén
  1. 1 worthless (idiom)
  2. 2 no use whatsoever
八字没一撇
bā zì méi yī piě
  1. 1 lit. there is not even the first stroke of the character 八 (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. things have not even begun to take shape
  3. 3 no sign of success yet
八字还没一撇
bā zì hái méi yī piě
  1. 1 lit. there is not even the first stroke of the character 八 (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. things have not even begun to take shape
  3. 3 no sign of success yet
八字还没一撇儿
bā zì hái méi yī piě r5
  1. 1 lit. there is not even the first stroke of the character 八 (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. things have not even begun to take shape
  3. 3 no sign of success yet
博文约礼
bó wén yuē lǐ
  1. 1 vigorously pursuing knowledge, while scrupulously abiding by the rules of decorum (idiom)
味同嚼蜡
wèi tóng jiáo là
  1. 1 tastes as if one is chewing wax (idiom)
  2. 2 tasteless
  3. 3 insipid
咬人狗儿不露齿
yǎo rén gǒu r5 bù lù chǐ
  1. 1 lit. the dog that bites does not show its fangs (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. You can't tell the really dangerous enemy from his external appearance.
咬文嚼字
yǎo wén jiáo zì
  1. 1 to bite words and chew characters (idiom); punctilious about minutiae of wording
咬牙切齿
yǎo yá qiè chǐ
  1. 1 gnashing one's teeth (idiom); displaying extreme anger
  2. 2 fuming with rage between gritted teeth
咬紧牙关
yǎo jǐn yá guān
  1. 1 lit. to bite the teeth tightly (idiom); fig. to grit one's teeth and bear the pain
  2. 2 to bite the bullet
奇文共赏
qí wén gòng shǎng
  1. 1 lit. remarkable work appreciated by all (idiom); universally praised (original meaning)
  2. 2 incomprehensible nonsense
  3. 3 preposterous bullshit
字字珠玉
zì zì zhū yù
  1. 1 every word a gem (idiom); magnificent writing

Sample Sentences

少跟我咬文嚼字了，我要继续看书去咯。
shǎo gēn wǒ yǎowénjiáozì le ，wǒ yào jìxù kànshū qù lo 。
Stop with your flowery language, I want to continue reading my book.
Go to Lesson