DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT
鑽牛角尖
简 钻牛角尖 · 繁 鑽牛角尖Mandarin · pinyin zuān niú jiǎo jiān
Meanings
- lit. to penetrate into a bull's horn (idiom); fig. to waste time on an insoluble or insignificant problem
- to bash one's head against a brick wall
- a wild goose chase
- a blind alley
- to split hairs
Characters in this entry
- 鑽
- Look up this written character
- 牛
- niú · cow, ox, bull; Kangxi radical 93; 9th lunar mansion, determinative star β Capricorni (Dabih)
- 角
- jiǎo · horn; angle, corner; point; Kangxi radical 148; 1st lunar mansion, determinative star Spica
- 尖
- jiān · sharp, pointed, acute, keen
- 钻
- zuān · drill, bore; pierce; diamond
Explore the spelling
Mandarin tones
1–2–3–1 · zuan1 niu2 jiao3 jian1
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
4character links
Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 2 Cantonese readings
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
zyun3 ngau4 gok3 zim1
Cantonese word readings for 鑽牛角尖. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack
zyun1 ngau4 gok3 zim1
Pleco · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Word reading; meanings not aligned.
Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
verb
- (idiomatic) to split hairs; to go down a dead end
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack