Zhíchǎng zhōng chōngmǎn le gōuxīn-dòujiǎo, ràng rén xīnlì-jiāocuì.
The workplace is full of scheming and power struggles, which is exhausting.
Tips
history
Originally from the Tang dynasty poet Du Mu's 阿房宫赋, where it described the interlocking eaves and beams of a grand palace - the architectural hooks and angles of the structure. Later the idiom shifted meaning to describe human scheming and rivalry.
memory
勾 = hook/scheme, 心 = heart/mind, 斗 = fight, 角 = corner/angle. 'Hooking minds and fighting corners' - people using every trick and angle to get ahead of each other.
