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錙銖必較

简锱铢必较 · 繁錙銖必較

Mandarin · pinyin zī zhū bì jiào

to haggle over every cent (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

錙: Look up this written character
銖: Look up this written character
必: bì · surely, most certainly; must
較: Look up this written character
锱: zī · an ancient unit of weight (one-eighth of a tael)
铢: zhū · unit of weight, one twenty-fourth of a Chinese ounce (liang)
较: jiào · compare; comparatively, more

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Mandarin tones

1–1–4–4 · zi1 zhu1 bi4 jiao4

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

錙銖必較 · find source passages ↗ · 锱铢必较 · find source passages ↗

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) to split hairs; to fuss over minor amounts or things

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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