钻牛角

鑽牛角
zuānniújiǎo
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 to fixate on an insoluble or trivial problem; to split hairs; to drive oneself up a blind alley

Examples

HSK 5
Tā yì zuānniújiǎo, shéi quàn yě méiyòng.
Once he gets fixated, nobody can talk him out of it.
HSK 7-9
Bié zuānniújiǎo le, zhè dào tí huàn ge sīlù jiù hǎole.
Stop bashing your head against the wall - try a different approach to the problem.

Tips

memory
Picture an insect crawling into a bull's horn: the deeper it goes, the narrower the space. Same as the fuller 钻牛角尖. Use when someone is getting stuck on a pointless detail.

Stroke Order

zuān
niú
jiǎo