咬文嚼字

yǎowénjiáozì
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 to pay excessive attention to wording
  2. 2 to split hairs over phrasing
  3. 3 pedantic

Examples

Tā xiě wénzhāng zǒng ài yǎowénjiáozì, kàn de rén tóuténg.
He always splits hairs over wording in his essays, which is exhausting to read.
Xué yǔyán bùnéng zhǐ yǎowénjiáozì, yào lǐjiě yìsi.
When learning a language, don't just nitpick the words — you need to grasp the meaning.

Tips

usage
Usually carries a mild negative tone: the person is fixating on word choice at the expense of substance. Occasionally used positively for careful editing.

Stroke Order

yǎo
wén
jiáo