héng shēng zhī jiédictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
to deliberately complicate an issue (idiom)
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-25a8687ab2c75097. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

橫生枝節 横生枝节 [heng2 sheng1 zhi1 jie2] /to deliberately complicate an issue (idiom)/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 橫生枝節

  • 横
    héng

    horizontal / across / crosswise / horizontal stroke (in Chinese characters) / to place (sth) flat (on a surface) / to cross (a river, etc) / in a jumble / chaotic / (in fixed expressions) harsh and unreasonable / violent

    hèng

    harsh and unreasonable / unexpected

  • 生
    shēng

    to grow / to give birth / to produce / to be born / to arise / to occur / to light (a fire) / to live / to be alive / life / raw / uncooked / unprocessed / unfamiliar / strange / (bound form) student / person engaged in a field / (bound form) male role in traditional opera / (bound form) life / lifetime / (bound form) means of livelihood / (bound form) very / intensely (as in 生疼[shēng téng]) / (bound form) in a forced manner (as in 生拉硬拽[shēng lā yìng zhuài])

  • 枝
    zhī

    branch / classifier for sticks, rods, pencils etc

  • 节
    jiē

    see 節骨眼|节骨眼[jiē gu yǎn]

    jié

    joint / node / (bound form) section / segment / solar term (one of the 24 divisions of the year in the traditional Chinese calendar) / seasonal festival / (bound form) to economize / to save / (bound form) moral integrity / chastity / classifier for segments: lessons, train wagons, biblical verses etc / knot (nautical miles per hour)

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.