Chinese word

挑剔

Pronunciation

Pinyintiāo tī

Meaning

  • adjectivepicky

Example

她对食物很挑剔。tā duì shí wù hěn tiāo tī

She is very picky about food.

Illustration for 挑剔 (picky)

More examples

他对朋友的缺点很挑剔。tā duì péng yǒu de quē diǎn hěn tiāo tī

He is very picky about his friends' shortcomings.

Core concept

Keeps sorting through details until an unwanted flaw becomes a reason to reject something.

Common phrases

  • 对食物挑剔duì shí wù tiāo tī

    picky about food

  • 对细节挑剔duì xì jié tiāo tī

    picky about details

Similar words

讲究jiǎng jiū: Particular about quality and fine details, especially how something looks or feels to use.
苛刻kē kè: Very demanding in judgment, accepting little and showing no mercy toward small mistakes.
严格yán gé: Firmly requiring rules or standards to be followed, while rarely allowing exceptions.

Definition in Chinese

对人或物的小毛病格外在意，挑出缺点并表示不满，带有否定评价，多用于口味、服装或工作表现等方面。duì rén huò wù de xiǎo máo bìng gé wài zài yì tiāo chū quē diǎn bìng biǎo shì bù mǎn dài yǒu fǒu dìng píng jià duō yòng yú kǒu wèi fú zhuāng huò gōng zuò biǎo xiàn děng fāng miàn

Word origin

挑 (tiāo, "select") + 剔 (tī, "pick out") describes choosing something while removing an unwanted part, a clear image for judging by its defects.

Usage tips

  • This word usually carries criticism rather than a neutral description, so it sounds stronger than a simple statement of personal taste.

Other meanings

  • hard to pleaseadjective
  • particularadjective

Opposites

Word lists with this word