雞蛋裡挑骨頭

See also: 鸡蛋里挑骨头

Chinese

FWOTD – 13 June 2022

		chicken egg; goose egg; a score of zero	inside; within; in inside; within; in; lining of clothing	incite; carry on a pole; choose	bone; character; personal quality
trad. (雞蛋裡挑骨頭/雞蛋裏挑骨頭)		雞蛋	裡/裏	挑	骨頭
simp. (鸡蛋里挑骨头)		鸡蛋	里	挑	骨头
Literally: “to pick out bones from a chicken egg”.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): jīdàn li tiāo gǔtou, jīdàn lǐ tiāo gútou

  (Zhuyin): ㄐㄧ ㄉㄢˋ ˙ㄌㄧ ㄊㄧㄠ ㄍㄨˇ ˙ㄊㄡ, ㄐㄧ ㄉㄢˋ ㄌㄧˇ ㄊㄧㄠ ㄍㄨˊ ˙ㄊㄡ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): gai¹ daan^6-2 leoi⁵ tiu¹ gwat¹ tau⁴, gai¹ daan⁶ leoi⁵ tiu¹ gwat¹ tau⁴

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese, standard in Mainland)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: jīdàn li tiāo gǔtou
    • Zhuyin: ㄐㄧ ㄉㄢˋ ˙ㄌㄧ ㄊㄧㄠ ㄍㄨˇ ˙ㄊㄡ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jidàn li̊ tiao gǔto̊u
    • Wade–Giles: chi¹-tan⁴ li⁵ tʻiao¹ ku³-tʻou⁵
    • Yale: jī-dàn li tyāu gǔ-tou
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jidann .li tiau guu.tou
    • Palladius: цзидань ли тяо гутоу (czidanʹ li tjao gutou)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕi⁵⁵ tän⁵¹ li¹ tʰi̯ɑʊ̯⁵⁵ ku²¹⁴ tʰoʊ̯⁴/
      
  • (Standard Chinese, standard in Taiwan)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: jīdàn lǐ tiāo gútou
    • Zhuyin: ㄐㄧ ㄉㄢˋ ㄌㄧˇ ㄊㄧㄠ ㄍㄨˊ ˙ㄊㄡ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jidàn lǐ tiao gúto̊u
    • Wade–Giles: chi¹-tan⁴ li³ tʻiao¹ ku²-tʻou⁵
    • Yale: jī-dàn lǐ tyāu gú-tou
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jidann lii tiau gwu.tou
    • Palladius: цзидань ли тяо гутоу (czidanʹ li tjao gutou)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕi⁵⁵ tän⁵¹ li²¹⁴⁻²¹ tʰi̯ɑʊ̯⁵⁵ ku³⁵ tʰoʊ̯³/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: gai¹ daan^6-2 leoi⁵ tiu¹ gwat¹ tau⁴, gai¹ daan⁶ leoi⁵ tiu¹ gwat¹ tau⁴
    • Yale: gāi dáan léuih tīu gwāt tàuh, gāi daahn léuih tīu gwāt tàuh
    • Cantonese Pinyin: gai¹ daan^6-2 loey⁵ tiu¹ gwat⁷ tau⁴, gai¹ daan⁶ loey⁵ tiu¹ gwat⁷ tau⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: gei¹ dan^6-2 lêu⁵ tiu¹ gued¹ teo⁴, gei¹ dan⁶ lêu⁵ tiu¹ gued¹ teo⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɐi̯⁵⁵ taːn²²⁻³⁵ lɵy̯¹³ tʰiːu̯⁵⁵ kʷɐt̚⁵ tʰɐu̯²¹/, /kɐi̯⁵⁵ taːn²² lɵy̯¹³ tʰiːu̯⁵⁵ kʷɐt̚⁵ tʰɐu̯²¹/

Idiom

雞蛋裡挑骨頭

1. to nitpick; to deliberately find fault

   • 他們一方面授予你廣泛的權力——或者至少他們說要這樣做，一方面又在你工作中最重要而且你又最為關注的領域雞蛋裡挑骨頭，令你無所適從。 [MSC, trad.]
     他们一方面授予你广泛的权力——或者至少他们说要这样做，一方面又在你工作中最重要而且你又最为关注的领域鸡蛋里挑骨头，令你无所适从。 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 2002, 罗伯特·布兰森博士 [Robert M. Bramson], 陈述 and 周欣, trans., 《怎样应付难缠的老板》 [Coping with Difficult Bosses], page 103

     Tāmen yīfāngmiàn shòuyǔ nǐ guǎngfàn de quánlì — huòzhě zhìshào tāmen shuō yào zhèyàng zuò, yīfāngmiàn yòu zài nǐ gōngzuò zhōng zuì zhòngyào érqiě nǐ yòu zuìwéi guānzhù de lǐngyù jīdàn li tiǎo gǔtou, lìng nǐ wúsuǒshìcóng. [Pinyin]

     On the one hand, they grant you extensive power—or at least they say that they want to do that; on the other hand, they nitpick at the area most important in your work, the one that you pay most attention to, causing you to be at a loss of what to do.

Synonyms

• 吹毛求疵 (chuīmáoqiúcī)