雕琢

diāozhuó
verb #26,124

Meanings

  1. 1 to sculpt
  2. 2 to carve (jade or stone)
  3. 3 to polish (writing)
  4. 4 overly ornate; overwrought (of prose)

Examples

HSK 5
Tā de wénzhāng guòyú diāozhuó, dú qǐlái bù zìrán.
His article is overly ornate and reads unnaturally.
HSK 5
Hǎo de shīgē xūyào fǎnfù diāozhuó cáinéng wánměi.
Good poetry requires repeated polishing to be perfect.
HSK 7-9
Gōngjiàng huā le shù yuè jīngxīn diāozhuó zhè kuài yùshí.
The craftsman spent months carefully carving this piece of jade.

Tips

usage
雕琢 can be neutral (careful crafting) or negative (overly fussy, lacking naturalness). Context determines the connotation. In literary criticism it often implies that writing is too decorated and loses authenticity.

Stroke Order

diāo
zhuó