吹毛求疵

chuīmáo-qiúcī

idiom #19,156

Meanings

1 to nitpick
2 to be fastidious
3 to find fault with everything

Characters

Examples

他总是吹毛求疵，没人愿意和他共事。

Tā zǒngshì chuīmáoqiúcī, méi rén yuànyì hé tā gòngshì.

He's always nitpicking — nobody wants to work with him.

别吹毛求疵了，这已经够好了。

Bié chuīmáoqiúcī le, zhè yǐjīng gòu hǎole.

Stop being so picky — this is already good enough.

Tips

memory

Literally: blow apart fur (吹毛) to look for flaws (求疵). Imagine blowing on an animal's coat to expose the tiniest blemish — that's how absurdly thorough a nitpicker is.

Stroke Order

吹 chuī

毛 máo

求 qiú

疵 cī