斤斤计较

斤斤計較
jīnjīn-jìjiào
idiom #25,588

Meanings

  1. 1 to haggle over every penny
  2. 2 to fuss over trivial matters
  3. 3 to be petty and calculative

Examples

HSK 1
Tā duì qián jīnjīn-jìjiào, péngyou men dōu bù xǐhuan tā.
He haggles over every penny, and his friends all dislike him.
HSK 3
Bié wèi zhè diǎn xiǎoshì jīnjīn-jìjiào le.
Don't fuss over such a trivial thing.
HSK 7-9
Zuòshēngyì bùnéng tài jīnjīn-jìjiào, yào yǒu dàjúguān.
In business, you can't be too petty - you need to see the big picture.

Tips

memory
斤 is the unit of catty (weight), so 斤斤 suggests obsessing over every tiny unit of weight. 计较 means to calculate and argue - together, the image is someone haggling over fractions of a gram.
history
From the 诗经 (周颂·执竞): 斤斤 originally described keen-eyed clarity. The sense narrowed over time to obsessive, petty calculation.

Stroke Order

斤 jīn
计 jì
较 jiào