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横挑鼻子竖挑眼

héng tiāo bí zi shù tiāo yǎndictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
to pick on sth incessantly (idiom) / to criticize right and left
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-5af1b3a47ff7f531. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

橫挑鼻子豎挑眼 横挑鼻子竖挑眼 [heng2 tiao1 bi2 zi5 shu4 tiao1 yan3] /to pick on sth incessantly (idiom)/to criticize right and left/

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: 橫挑鼻子豎挑眼

  • 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

  • 挑
    tiāo

    to carry on a shoulder pole / to choose / to pick / to nitpick

    tiǎo

    to raise / to dig up / to poke / to prick / to incite / to stir up

  • 鼻
    bí

    nose

  • 子
    zǐ

    son / child / seed / egg / small thing / 1st earthly branch: 11 p.m.–1 a.m., midnight, 11th solar month (7th December to 5th January), year of the rat / viscount, fourth of five orders of nobility 五等爵位[wǔ děng jué wèi] / ancient Chinese compass point: 0° (north) / subsidiary; subordinate; (prefix) sub-

    zi

    noun suffix, as in 椅子[yǐ zi] "chair"

  • 竖
    shù

    to erect / vertical / vertical stroke (in Chinese characters)

  • 挑
    tiāo

    to carry on a shoulder pole / to choose / to pick / to nitpick

    tiǎo

    to raise / to dig up / to poke / to prick / to incite / to stir up

  • 眼
    yǎn

    eye (CL:隻|只[zhī],雙|双[shuāng]) / (often used with 一[yī]) a look; a glance / small hole / (bound form) salient point / classifier for wells, cave-dwellings etc

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.